


Lost and Found

by kuchi



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Toy Story Fusion, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2020-09-27 11:10:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20406757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuchi/pseuds/kuchi
Summary: When Katara befriends a lost toy and brings him home, unlikely friendships are made and each toy must figure out what it means to belong. (Toy Story fusion/AU).





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU the gaang are a group of sentient toys (bear with me) and they learn the value of friendship through shenanigans a la Toy Story! Based on an ingenious premise by @greenbucket. I have four chapters written and the rest of it in various stages of planning, so this will be updated on a weekly schedule for now and hopefully after, and finish at around 20k. Hope you enjoy :D

Tired eyelids opened, creaking in their sockets with disuse, and a pair of rounded glass eyes stared out. The room was dark. The toy shifted in discomfort – a sharp object was digging awkwardly into its back. Taking a moment to make sure that no humans were around, it stood up on dusty legs and stretched. Something soft squished under its feet. The toy was in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar surroundings.

He pushed his arms against the nearest wall. From the distance to the other end, he could tell it was the smooth side of a large, plastic trunk. He patted down his stiff plastic clothes – he didn't appear to have any part of him missing, and his staff too was still clipped to his waist. He pulled it away, and with a flick of a button it whirred and opened into a glider. The toy leapt onto the edge of the trunk, using the glider for balance.

There was no one, toy or human, in sight. In the box below he now saw a jumble of items and trinkets, a water bottle, a couple of jackets, and the offending tennis racket that must have nudged him into consciousness.

He tried to remember how he had got to this place, but his mind drew up a blank.

Surveying the room, he guessed it was a classroom: a sliver of moonlight from the window lit up rows of small desks and chairs, and the walls above were lined with scribbled drawings and poems in large, awkward handwriting.

He decided to wait. If this was a school, someone would be here in the morning.

* * *

Katara walked along the narrow ledge of the whiteboard for the hundredth time. By now, she barely needed to look down to keep her balance, and the novelty of being so high up above her usual haunts had worn off hours ago. The idea of flicking through all the books lined along the shelves, and watching the goldfish glittering in their tank, and trying out the new stock of paints, were all tried, tested and old news.

This whole room was a sight she had seen far too many times. Smoothing down her tunic so that any tears in it didn't catch, she carefully slid down the cord hanging next to the board, whirling her water whip around the wooden arm of the teacher's chair to leverage an easy landing.

It wasn't Jia's fault that she left Katara at school almost every week without fail. She was just forgetful, and Katara couldn't be mad about it when Jia liked her enough to bring her with her to school to play with her every day in the first place. And it wasn't always so bad, quite often there were other toys in the lost-and-found that she hung out with, though no one's owner left them here as frequently as Jia did.

She landed on the cushioned seat with a dull thud, caught her balance, and made the leap to the closest table. Still. What if one day, Jia left and didn't come back for her?

It happened once, it could happen again. 

Katara shook the notion out of her head. That was a train of thought she couldn't afford to follow. It was almost noon judging by the glare of the sun. She should go back to the trunk to make sure that Jia and her mother had the best chance of finding her when they came to pick her up. She traced the familiar steps over the edge of the desk and jumped down into the trunk on autopilot.

Something caught her ankle and tripped her. Katara landed face first in a clump of sweaty sports shirt. At first glance it was some kind of stick, a bright orange flicker trailing it. Before she had time to stand, a voice cried out.

"My glider!"

Something ran forward before stopping short in front of her. Katara got up, her face twisting at the stench of PE clothes, and turned.

It was another toy. A boy. He was dressed in orange and red, in a strange style of wrappings Katara had never seen before. In his hand he had snatched up the object that tripped her, not a stick, she saw, but a staff of polished wood.

"Hi," he said breathlessly. A brief look of embarrassment passed his expressive face as he looked down at the staff, but he recovered quickly, resuming his curious expression. "I'm Aang. What's your name? Do you know where we are?"

Katara paused for a moment, barely keeping up. "We're…in the classroom. Third grade, Ms Ling's class."

The boy blinked. None of those words seemed to mean anything to him. Katara noted his eyes were made of glass, or at least an expensive resin like the kind top-shelf toys always had. His lashes were carefully applied, hand-painted. She pressed on, confused, "Didn't one of the kids leave you? Who's your owner?"

"My…owner?" he said slowly.

Katara quirked her brow. "You mean someone from the class didn't leave you here? Then where did you come from?"

The boy gaped for a moment; her question was clearly too expectant for the fact that he lacked a real answer. Then he sat down on the rim of a sports cap near his feet. He rubbed at his head. "I don't know… All I know is that I woke up here last night, with my glider. I don't remember anything else. I mean, besides the fact that I came from a shop."

That much Katara could see. Despite the layer of dust he had gathered in his time here, he showed no signs of wear and tear. His vinyl limbs were smooth and opaque, with perfect joints, and even eyelids. He was clothed in that unfamiliar orange get-up, the fabric deep-coloured, rendered in such breathtaking detail that even though it was plastic it appeared to billow in the air. Even the glider's wings were woven in cloth. He didn't have hair, which was pretty odd, but that must have been by design, because over his head curved a long arrow, like a tattoo, separate from his skin yet almost seamless, in translucent blue plastic.

Katara searched her brain, trying not to be too obvious as she observed him. "I've never seen you in any commercials… are you new?"

"I don't think so," he said. He was looking around the room, and down at his hands. He even checked under his robe and hunched over to check the soles of his shoes. Katara suppressed the dreadful feeling that rose in her stomach as she watched what was unfolding: he found no sign of ownership, nothing to jog his memory. She was about to offer her help when she caught a glimpse of silver at his back.

"Hey, wait– what's that?" Katara leapt forward and stopped him by his shoulder. She peeked under the loose fabric of the tunic at the back of his neck. As she expected, there was a battery there, but it was dislodged slightly, poking out of the holder. There was no casing covering it, but screw holes around the cavity showed that there was supposed to be. It looked old and rusted. Impulsively, Katara pushed the battery into place.

Aang's eyes and his arrow lit up instantaneously. She gasped and leapt back. It was brilliant white, bright enough to make her shield her eyes.

Aang whirled to catch the vague reflection of it on the side of the trunk, but he barely managed to get a glimpse. The lights flickered, faster and faster, and then went out as if they had never glowed in the first place.

Curiosity got the better of her, and Katara inspected the battery again, removing, examining and replacing it again. It was fine. She noticed a small switch above it and flicked it back and forth, but the lights were gone for good. There was something vaguely familiar about the display she had just seen, but Katara couldn't recall what exactly, or where she had seen it, so she let the thought slip for now. There were more important matters at hand anyway.

"Are you Kee's? He's always forgetting his toys," she tried, though she didn't expect a positive answer. She was beginning to realise that wherever Aang might come from, there was a slim chance he was a child's toy – he simply looked too _valuable _for that.

"I don't think so," Aang said worriedly. Katara had never seen a toy look so perplexed.

"I'll tell you what," she said. "You can come back with me. If you really don't have an owner, then you won't be missing. Jia's really nice, and we could really do with more toys in her room."

His eyes lit up wonderfully, lights or not. "Really? Are you sure?"

Katara had to laugh in unbridled happiness at his reaction. She was well aware of the relief he must be feeling. "Of course! You don't wanna hang around in this dump, do you?" she said, wrinkling her nose in the direction of the pile of used clothes.

Aang looked sheepish. "Oh yeah… Sorry about that. I shouldn't have left my glider lying around."

Katara picked it up from their feet and graced him with a smirk. "I'll forget it if you show me how it works."

Aang grinned in earnest. "Done."

* * *

Katara was _tons_ of fun. Aang didn't know how long he spent showing her how to use the glider, taking turns flying off the side of the teacher's desk. She was a crazily quick learner, and swift to boot, even if she wobbled under the weight of the wood when she landed. When Katara suggested they should try flying off the windowsill, a considerable upgrade from the low desks, Aang was delighted. He noticed that she carried a long bag strapped across her shoulder, concealing some sort of spool of strong, shining blue-white ribbon that she wielded with remarkable agility, like a whip.

Only once, she misstepped and the glider caught on her tunic and tripped her landing. It tore a little, but she didn't seem to care. The fabric was fraying and cheap, and Aang noticed, stitches in a few places. Even if she wasn't old, which seemed unlikely going by her expressive design, she was definitely well played with. Katara simply got up from her fall, shouting with glee, and tried again.

"This is the most fun I've had in so long!" she screamed, her long braid swishing in the air.

Aang yelled from the ledge above, "Don't you play with the toys at home?"

"Sure," she said, and when he leapt down she lowered her voice to a more sombre and explanatory tone, "But Jia has a lot more after school activities these days, and there aren't many of us in the toy box. Everyone's busy with their own thing."

Aang considered this. He would be lying if he told her he knew what a normal amount of toys was, his last memory was of sitting in a box on the locked shelves behind the counter of a toy shop with a dozen others, most of them haughty and self-important and few of them interested in conversation, let alone playing. He had certainly never met any toy like Katara, with her fading leggings and pen marks by her hairline.

He was very glad to be here with her instead of in that box. Even if he was technically lost.

There was a noise by the door. The sound of a pair of amiable voices floated in.

_"...thank you so much for letting us come on short notice,"_ one voice was saying.

_"Of course! We're still finishing up work until tomorrow, even though the kids are out for the summer."_

_"I really appreciate it. This is the only time I could come, I have to be at my afternoon shift in– oh! – twenty minutes."_

Katara looked at Aang, and eyed for him to follow her back to the trunk. She whispered as they climbed in again, "Now Jia will come in with her backpack. She'll find me, drop it by the trunk, and then she's definitely going to go look at the fish. That's when you have to hop into the bag after me. Got it?"

Aang nodded. She made it sound like this routine was something that happened many times. He felt a little bad for her, being left alone so frequently, even if nothing about her demeanour suggested she felt similarly.

The door swung open and Aang and Katara dropped lifeless into the trunk.

"Go on, honey, grab your doll," the first voice said. A patter of footsteps was heard, and then Aang watched a pair of hands lower into the trunk and lift Katara out from the corner of his eye. Sure enough, Jia's steps retreated towards the side of the room with the fish tank. The two adults still chatting in the corner of the room. When he was sure that all were distracted, Aang leapt out of the trunk, and into the open bag.

He landed head first, knocking his head against a water bottle. Katara silently but forcefully yanked him up by the arm. They smiled at each other in recognition of a successful plan.


	2. Jia's Room

Sokka took a deep breath. He was gathering his strength for the mightiest throw he could muster. He picked up the boomerang by one of its arms, and hoisted it up above his head...

"Sokka! What are you doing in the laundry?"

...and he dropped it, startled by his sister's voice.

Katara's head peeked over the edge of the laundry basket far above him. She looked distinctly unimpressed. "Did you throw the boomerang in here again? I told you it's too big for you!"

"It's fine! I'm fine!" Jia's old boomerang was perfectly manageable for him, thank you very much. His aim just needed a little work.

"Stop messing around. I need you to call a meeting."

"What?"

"I said, we need to organise a meeting! I found a new toy."

This caught Sokka's interest. There hadn't been a new toy in Jia's room since Appa, and he was a big furry plushie that didn't say anything except the occasional moo. Jia had won him at the New Years Festival during the spring, probably using the throwing skills that this very boomerang had let her practice. Whoever this new toy was, if they could hold an intelligent conversation that was good enough for Sokka.

After a few unsuccessful tries, he managed to throw the boomerang up into the air. It spun at a worrying angle, before landing with a loud clatter on the floor just outside the rim of the basket. Mission accomplished. Sort of.

Katara was waiting on the round carpet in the middle of Jia's room with a stranger. She introduced them briefly, and in the end, Sokka interrogated him while Katara went knocking in the boxes and shelves around the room to gather the toys. He sensed that they were well acquainted, even though Katara must have found him at school somewhere within the last day. The kid - Aang - was surprisingly sweet. Katara hadn't seemed too perturbed by his evident monetary worth, though he easily stuck out compared to them. She probably didn't know enough collectors' toys to tell, but they could be real snobs sometimes. Sokka had been here long enough to run into the toys in Jia's dad's room next door, before he turned it into an exclusive study, and he shuddered to think about what they were like.

But although Sokka started out wary, Aang wasn't like he expected at all. He seemed excited to be here, _really_ excited, and Sokka was very satisfied with that. He learnt that Aang was somehow fresh from the store, which probably had a lot to do with his attitude.

"Did you say Katara's your sister?"

"Yep. Same line, we're siblings from the same mover," Sokka nodded. "_Heroes of the South_," he waved his arms to frame an imaginary screen. "Big hit with all the kids. Jia's mom got Katara in a jumble sale last year so that we would match, actually." He puffed his chest a little; he was proud of the team they were. All the toys seemed to respect them when they were together, and they had naturally come out as de facto leaders of their little community. Even if Jia had taken a liking to Katara that surpassed all her other toys, Sokka included, he couldn't hold it against her.

Once all the toys had gathered on the carpet, Sokka leapt onto the old upturned paper tray they used as a stage and gestured for all of them to quiet down. Everyone was here - from all the Kyoshi Warriors standing to attention in their warpaint to Momo down from where he usually swung by the door, his attention captured by his velcro paws sticking to the carpet. Even Princess Yue had unzipped herself out of her moon purse, showing her face and letting her long, silky skirt flow free for the occasion. Sokka tried not to stare at her beauty. Why did it have to be the prettiest toys that were always covered away?

"Everybody!" he yelled. "We have a new toy. I repeat, Jia has a new toy. Come up here, Aang." He jumped up onto the stage as Sokka instructed. "Aang, everyone. Everyone, Aang. Introduce yourselves and play nice."

There were a few curious gasps - undoubtedly from those wondering what a collectors' toy like Aang was doing in Jia's room. But when Aang spent the next hour mingling with them, Sokka realised there was nothing to worry about. He sidled up to Yue to make an awkward but successful attempt at conversation before she disappeared, watching the other toys from the corner of his eye. Aang was swinging Momo around by his arms, and asking Suki for demonstrations of how they used fans for weapons. All through it, he and Katara stayed close to each other, trading jokes and observations. It seemed Katara's good nature was compounded by Aang's friendliness and the toys all had a good time. When Aang finally decided to lie down on Appa's back, and simply familiarise himself with the surroundings of Jia's room, he left his glider with Katara, who was practising from up on Jia's bed.

Satisfied with his quota of flirting, an energised Sokka decided he should do the same: he grabbed the boomerang and went to practice with his sister.

* * *

"Hey, what's this guy's name, again?"

Aang nuzzled into the giant creature's fur, probably his single favourite place in this whole room. Though Jia's entire room was a revelation: there was no end to the variety of toys around, even if they weren't many in number. A hundred places to play, nooks and crannies to discover, lay in its cosy, cluttered corners. Aang made a mental note to check out the adjoining garden the next morning; it had taken him all of two days to exhaust everything in this room.

The creature just mooed loudly in response, shaking violently until Aang lost his grip and fell off, and then pushed its enormous furry muzzle into Aang's abdomen.

Sokka and Katara laughed on the bed next to him. "This is Appa," Sokka said knowledgeably. "Jia won him first prize at the carnival." Appa nuzzled into Aang, his long fur tickling Aang's face until he sneezed. "I _think _he likes you."

Aang took advantage of the moment that Appa was distracted by Sokka's approaching pats to get up and leap onto his back again. He lay down, stretching out his limbs for balance this time. "Aah," he sighed. "I like you too, boy."

Just then, Suki walked by the dresser with two warriors from her guard. Sokka straightened his shoulders visibly as she approached. "My girls have been patrolling the garden path," she announced. "I thought you should know, he's up on the window again."

"What does he want?" Sokka murmured.

Aang followed her gaze to see what they were looking at. Against the darkness beyond the window was a lone figure, staring out. He didn't seem to notice that all the other toys were out playing, with Jia away in the dining room for dinner. "Who is that? _He _looks grumpy."

"That's Zuko. He's not Jia's," Katara said sharply. She wasn't standing with the rest of them, her back turned. Aang turned back to Sokka in confusion.

Sokka looked uncomfortably between the two of them before elaborating. "Well, he is. Kind of. Do you see that gold tag on his boot?"

Aang nodded. He could just barely make out a glint of gold from this far away. It was overshadowed by the glare of two thin blades of metal hanging from Zuko's waist - swords of steel that would never originally belong to any toy.

"He's a designer toy. From the Royal Line. Used to be in Jia's dad's collection but his face got melted off so I guess he's with us now."

Aang edged towards the foot of the bed as surreptitiously as possible to get a good look at this mysterious toy. He didn't look like he was too different to Aang, as far as toys went, though his clothes were made of real textiles rather than plastic. He was clearly more expensive than any of Jia's toys, from the detailed sections of hair on his head to the billowy yet strong-looking material that his robe was made of. Aang thought _his face got melted off _was putting it a bit harshly; from where he could see it, his eye was blackened, the paint and plastic melting somewhat grotesquely together, but the rest of him was spotless and his expression remained clear. A scowl sat on his face so firmly that Aang was hard pressed to believe it wasn't painted there permanently.

"Why doesn't he join the rest of the toys?" Aang said, gesturing to the boxes below them. "He'd probably cheer up a little if he hung out here."

Sokka glowered, but before he could reply, Katara whipped her head around, her arms crossed, to rejoin the conversation. Her brows were knitted and she scoffed loudly. "Oh no, he won't do that. He's too good for _us_."

Aang sensed the bitterness in her tone instantly. Warily, he turned to Sokka for elaboration again. Anyone could tell there was bad blood between the toys on the bed and the figure on the windowsill, but what worried him the most was that he had never seen Katara look so _angry_. Her shoulders were hunched and her mouth set almost in a pout. He didn't like it.

Sokka was watching the window with narrowed eyes. "We _tried_ to bring him here and include him. But - he just got angry and he wouldn't join us. Let's just say that that kid's got issues and leave it at that."

Aang watched Zuko practice with the swords. He was pretty good, he had to admit. He wondered what being a collectors' toy in someone's home would be like. Probably boring more than anything, never getting played with. Jia had picked him up twice now, once to be a flying superhero and another time a wizened villainous monk, and that was thrilling, not to mention all the time he spent playing with his fellow toys. He couldn't imagine being restricted to shelves, and not for the first time, he felt grateful for his circumstances. He looked from Sokka to Katara, both expressionless. "It seems like a shame to just play by yourself."

Katara glanced darkly towards the windowsill. "Yeah, well, it's what he deserves."

Aang frowned. There was something they weren't saying about Zuko and it seemed like they didn't want to elaborate, either. Katara's mood stuck in his mind. Regardless of the fact that he actually felt kind of sorry for such a lonely kid, he didn't want to see her like this.

"Hey," he said. "Do you want to go fly the glider for a while before Jia comes back?"

Katara sighed and smiled at his attempt. "Sure," she said, though she didn't sound sure. Aang smiled back; he would do his best to change that.

* * *

Zuko watched the toys gathered on the bed, slinking out of the room. The sun was setting, streaming annoying light straight into his eyes. The house was always empty at this hour, with Li and his wife at work, and Jia at her karate class. He liked it. He was able to roam around anywhere he liked, from the study where he used to live, all the way to the kitchen and even in the balcony.

He preferred it this way. Just him alone – and the swords that Toph had helped him fashion out of old razors in the garden, in case he ever found himself in any trouble. This way, he didn't have to stay and listen to Jia's toys and their dumb, endless meetings and gatherings. They never left Jia's room alone, except to go into the garden.

Of course, it wasn't as bad as living your life up in a stupid dollhouse. No, they were doing more than alright, by the standards of his old life. The thought made him wander to the study, and he decided to see whatever Azula was up to.

The room was bathed in light from the glass doors that led out into the garden. Rows and rows of shelved toys glinted in their boxes and cabinets. Li collected toys from all over, antiques and new releases and all. On the highest shelves were ones Zuko had never heard of and wouldn't dare speak to, and ones that put the gilded thread in his collar to shame.

In the middle of one wall, hoisted on a sturdy wooden mantle, was the centrepiece of it all: a giant vintage dollhouse, modelled after the grand imperial palaces of ages gone by. It was open on its hinges to display the delicate landscapes that were painted into its myriad of bamboo screen doors. Drapings and shining textiles of every kind littered the furniture contained within dozens of backlit rooms, but only one toy lived there.

Well, only one toy lived there _now._

Azula emerged from the house and sauntered down the delicate, red-varnished steps to the courtyard as if on cue.

"Hello, Zuzu. Not at the party next door, I see?"

Zuko glared at the door adjoining Jia's room, and back up at Azula. From his perch on a low shelf, she was formidable. The dollhouse stood so high on its stand that no one could reach it by design, toy or child. If you were curious enough about the outside world to throw yourself off, that was fine, but there was no way to get back up. Anyone who was special enough to live up there would never risk it with all their expensive parts, as Zuko was well aware.

Azula didn't seem to care one bit about that, however. She revelled in her superiority. As far as she was concerned, when Li removed her once a month for a dusting it was more than enough interaction with the outside world.

She was unreachable, in more ways than one.

"There's some new toy," Zuko explained. "They're introducing him to everyone." He immediately bit his tongue - if that wasn't just the perfect statement for her to latch on to.

Predictably, Azula sweetened her voice in mock surprise. "You don't want to introduce yourself?"

Zuko shook his head irritably. "It's just some orange kid in a weird robe."

Azula tsked and sat primly on the patio edge, swinging her legs down. The golden tag on her boot, engraved with the coveted old Fire Nation dollmaker's signature, glinted perfectly in the sunlight. Every inch of her was perfect. Zuko looked at his own boots, and his tag, the metal scratched by weeks of wear and tear, hidden by scribbled ink. She didn't even get dusty.

She laughed, an unkind sound that seemed to reverberate off every surface in the vicinity. "You're pathetic, Zuzu. I can see that you're too afraid to even make friends with those dirty little playing toys."

"I'm not _afraid._"

"I don't understand. All you wanted when you stayed _here_ was to get out," she spat.

"I don't want to be friends with those stupid toys!" he shouted. This was a tired argument, one that Azula was relentless with. He _didn't_ care anymore.

"Whatever," she hummed, clinking her fingertips on the wood. "Maybe you're too ugly for even them. You know, I'm surprised Li didn't throw you out."

"Shut up, Azula," Zuko snapped. "At least I'm not stuck in a ridiculous mansion all on my own."

Azula stood up in one sharp movement, incensed. "I get a beautiful house all for my own while you loiter in the corners like some peasant, not even good enough for Jia's silly games." She continued after a quick breath, "And whose fault is that, anyway?"

Zuko clenched his fists, but her tone, caustic as ever, felt as if it was clouding his brain with fury until he had no way to think clearly and retort.

"And besides, we're getting more toys for the dollhouse. I heard Li talking on the phone. He wants to get the Fire Lord and his brother," her eyes sparkled, "our dad and uncle, Zuko. Do you _know_ how much adult toys in our line are worth? Do you know how ridiculous _you'll _seem, compared to them?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. There was no point in arguing with Azula, there never was. If she thought that sitting pretty all day would make her happy, then so be it. He growled an annoyed goodbye and stomped away. The chatter through the door to Jia's room had died down by now.

Zuko hoisted his swords onto his back and returned to practice by his spot on the windowsill. He liked the view there, of the garden, past the sheds and into the fields beyond. And maybe, if Jia saw him first when she returned, she might play with him again.


	3. Freedom

_Zuko heard the heavy thud of the front door slamming shut. This was it._

_After as much deliberation as he could stand, he had placed himself perfectly against the side porch of the dollhouse, nearest to the desk. This was his chance. For weeks he had been observing the child, Jia, when she came into her father's study, her wide eyes roving his formidable collection of toys with curiosity._

_He knew she was his ticket to leaving the dollhouse. Her father had just left to play cards with the neighbours next door; her mother still working late into the evening. If Jia was going to make any attempt at getting her inquisitive hands on her father's collection, it would be now._

_Just as Zuko had predicted, the door to the study slowly swung open, the muffled sound of socked feet padding towards the shelves. Zuko quickly went limp, sticking as much of his body out of the house as he could without losing balance._

_He held his breath. Jia quickly padded around the room once. Zuko could see her eyes were on the dollhouse. She had long ago lost interest in the bottom shelf toys. Within minutes, she had climbed precariously onto Li's chair, and from there onto his desk. Her hands, grimy from playing outside, lifted the papers on the desk out of her way with utmost care before stepping forward and craning her neck towards the dollhouse._

_Zuko stole a glance her way. She was looking longingly at Azula, lying limp along the top of the rich woven carpet of the living room. Jia made an admirable attempt at stretching her arms towards the doll, but her fingers grasped just inches shy of Azula's shining hair. She sighed, found her bearings again, and that's when she caught sight of Zuko. He averted his gaze._

_One callous swing of the arm later, he was up in the air. Zuko noted her hands were patchy with dirt, unfit for a prince, but in this moment it didn't matter. Jia jumped down onto the floor and examined her prize. Her fingers poked at his face, between the layers of his robes. She turned him upside down, gave him a shake, before reading the name on his boot. "Prince Zuko," and then she turned him around again and beamed at him._

_The next couple of hours Zuko would remember forever. Jia took him to every room, revelling in the occasion of an empty house. Zuko was an explorer scaling the cliff edge of the dining table, a seafaring captain stranded on a precarious bucket island. He was the regal guest of honour at a party where he drank tea from a cup half the size of his body and twice as heavy._

_In the living room, Jia decided he should become a prince again, this time one on a trusted steed, in pursuit of the magical beasts that disguised themselves as her mother's showpieces. They had claimed the mantle of the fireplace, and Zuko was the last remaining royal warrior who could defend the territory. He had to defeat them, or he wouldn't be able to return to -_

_The sound of the front door made Jia gasp and turn._

_Zuko fell from her slippery clutch and landed against the fireguard. Li's footsteps were advancing. Zuko was aware that he had fallen on the inside, that flames were licking against his face, though in a strike of panic he realised that Jia hadn't noticed._

_Jia caught her bearings again. The seconds passed slowly as she frantically looked around for Zuko. Her eyes widened with fear as she spotted him and Zuko's heart sank at the sight of her face: alarmed, scared, exactly how he felt inside._

_She clambered towards him and snatched him out._

_The next few minutes Zuko didn't remember well. Li shouted, and Jia listened and whimpered, until she couldn't anymore and she wailed. In his confusion, Zuko didn't notice when he had switched from her hands to his, and was being shaken, inspected, waved around._

_Finally, Li made up his mind. His face was red and chest was heaving from the falling crescendo of his anger. He looked Zuko right in the face and grimaced. "It's worthless now."_

_Zuko's stomach twisted. He wanted to object, to run back to her: it was the closest he ever came to breaking the most important rule._

_Jia sniffed in the background. Zuko took one glance at Li's face of utter disinterest before he was tossed into her hands. "Put it with the rest of your toys, and don't come in here again," he said, resigned._

_Jia took an eternity to return to her room. Zuko was frozen in her grip, brushing her skirt with every step. The ruin of his face scratched against the fabric. She set him down on her threadbare carpet._

_Zuko wanted more than anything to cheer her up and he couldn't understand why. Somehow, the span of two hours with this child had shown him more fun, more feeling, and more adventure than a lifetime in the dollhouse. He wished so badly for her to lift him up in the air again, put him back on the horse and swing him around the room; the swashbuckling prince in pursuit of the dragon._

_But she didn't pick him up. She crossed her legs on the carpet and looked at him long, until her face crumpled into tears again. Scrubbing at her face, she opened the box, tossed Zuko in with a trembling hand._

_She turned away and did not pick him up the next day, or the next._

_Zuko watched Jia play with her regulars every afternoon. And every afternoon, his resentment grew._

_Why should he be cast aside by them both? When he was better, stronger, cleaner, nicer, than those cheap things? It wasn't fair. It didn't make sense._

* * *

Toph sensed the figure approaching her hammock from afar. He left his perch on the windowsill, dropped off of her radar, and reappeared in a few moments by the garden doors. She nestled into her hammock - a plastic bag, one from _Narook's Seaweed Noodlery_ that floated in dependably once or twice a week.

Zuko stopped in front of her, his shoulders hunched. "Hey."

Boy, that kid was awkward. Toph yawned and made herself more comfortable in the warm sunlight. "What's up?" She did not turn her head to acknowledge him.

Toph was old - she didn't tell Zuko how old, gaining immense pleasure from the way Zuko squirmed when he couldn't figure out if she was joking about her insides being made of lead or not. She knew he was too afraid to really ask. How Toph wished she could see his expressions. Something told her they were probably enough to make her burst into laughter. But years in the garden had bleached away much of her painted features, and for a toy, to be eyeless was to be blind.

"Nothing much." Zuko trailed a sword in the dirt, roughly.

"Cut that out," Toph yelled, pulling her hands over her ears. "I can feel it, you know."

She didn't mind her peace being interrupted - it was nice to have company, _sometimes_ \- but she couldn't always take his dramatics.

"They're having a meeting inside," he said. _Grumbled_, more like. "There's a new toy. Aren't you going?"

She gave a shrug. "I'm sure Sokka and Katara will bring him out to play sometime. I need my sun."

She felt Zuko shake his head at her blatant irreverence. He knew her well enough now how she had escaped years ago from a few houses down. Playing alone was better than being left behind glass and never played with at all. Zuko was probably about to start one of his rants about how she was _only going to fade more in the sun, you know that, right?_

But she didn't care about something so lousy as her appearance. Things like that didn't matter when you didn't have to worry about an owner keeping you. Of course, she wasn't dumb enough to say _that _to Zuko. He cared about things that were a mystery to her, and he cared mountains more than Toph ever had, even back when she was a prim little box princess.

"Why aren't you going?" Toph asked, letting a hint of exasperation edge into her voice. She already knew the answer.

Zuko made that sputtering sound that meant he was trying to tamp down his irritation. "You know they don't want me," he said finally.

"Whose fault d'you think that is?" she said. "I swear, if you just swallowed your princely pride…"

"If you're going to lecture me, I'll play somewhere else!"

Toph raised her hands up to ease him. It only took a gust of wind to get him worked up. Not everyone could be as carefree as her, she knew that, but this guy was on a whole other level.

Zuko sat down next to her hammock. "You don't seem like you need friends," he said, and Toph could tell he was softening his tone so it didn't sound like an accusation. She appreciated that.

She sensed Zuko's surprise at her lack of reaction. After a long moment, she said, "That's not true. They're my best friends," she nudged her head in the direction of the door leading into the house, into Jia's room. "The first friends I ever had."

"Really? There was no one in your old house?"

"Nope."

Zuko looked like he was struggling to understand her nonchalance about this. Kept toys really were all stuck inside the box - figuratively, too. Finally, tilting his head, he said, "Well. Why don't you go inside with them and become one of Jia's toys? You like her, you made her laugh with those worms."

Toph was surprised he remembered that. "I don't _want_ to belong to a kid. Why do you think I escaped?"

"So... the kids in your old house? How could you not like them?"

Toph scoffed. "They weren't-" She paused, trying to phrase this in a way Zuko would understand. Poor guy would probably think that leaving her on a shelf dressed up in things she could barely move in was normal. "Look, real friends - and owners - don't care who you are or what you look like. They play with you and let you be yourself."

Zuko shifted in the dirt, dragging his sword again. Toph let it go this time. "By that logic, you're my only real friend."

She groaned. "Don't get mushy on me."

* * *

Azula paced through the rooms of the dollhouse, flinging aside bamboo doors and flimsy pieces of furniture in her way. "Ty Lee, get over here! What's happening in the garden?"

Ty Lee swung off her place between the pots of pens on the top shelf of the desk. Her rubber arms stretched and catapulted down her into Azula's view on the very edge of the desk. "Umm, let's see," she rested her chin in a bendy hand. "Jia's toys are playing with that little eyeless one. I think the new toy is there? Looks like they're introducing him."

Ugh. "No sign of Zuko?"

"Nope."

Where the hell was he? Surely not moping around inside Jia's room again. If he still didn't have the guts to mix with them, what even was the point of his treachery?

She wandered irritably into her bedroom and slumped down into her cot. She twirled the golden tassels of the bedspread around and around in her hand, until the glint of one of Mai's blade arms, poking out of her elaborate casing, came to distract her.

Azula sighed roughly. "Don't you ever get, you know, bored?"

"All the time," Mai said. "I wish Li would do something with me besides cut cigar paper."

"Not like that," Azula snapped. They weren't understanding her point. Mai was a vintage, painted-doll pen knife. She could be valuable _and _usable. Not that Azula cared, but she thought it a little unfair. Mai took damage yet Li treated her as if she was irreplaceable. She didn't seem to have any regard for her own position, sighing her way through each day. "I mean… don't either of you ever wonder why you're here?"

Ty Lee, bouncing towards the edge of the back in a mindless exercise, twisted her neck in a long moment of thought before chirping up. "No, not really. I mean, I know why I'm here, Azula, I'm a stress toy. Anytime Li or Meng or even Jia gives me a squeeze, I can tell they feel better 'cause of it." She swung into a handstand, hooking her feet onto the top shelf and catapulting herself back onto it. "And that's all I need," she added happily.

How sickening. Azula looked to Mai, who swivelled her serrated arm in thought. "Mmm. I'm here for Li's smoking habit, clearly. And you should ask Zuko, I'm sure he'd have a better answer for a-"

"Stop," Azula demanded. She shook her head, irritably. Of course, Mai had to bring him up, as if she was clueless to the fact that she was the only one in the room Zuko even bothered being friendly to. "My brother won't even-"

She was interrupted by a loud trilling from the telephone on the wall. All three of them limpened, Ty Lee rushing back into her place between Mai and a pile of books. Within moments, the door slid open and Li entered to pick up the phone. Azula didn't bother paying attention to the call, until the sound of her name pierced the angry haze of her mind.

"_...I only have Princess Azula,_" Li was explaining. "_I'm back to square one, come on, man. We agreed on the price."_

Azula listened intently. Li's brows were drawn together in disappointment. The voice on the other end was garbled and quiet from here, but even Azula could recognise the guilt in it.

"_How much for just one?" _Li was saying. "_What about the elder one, Iroh? I know those cost less, Mithu, everyone knows about the manufacturing errors in the first edition…_"

Azula's heart seized as she realised what they were discussing. No. This could not be happening. It was the only thing she'd had to look forward to for months. Since Zuko left.

Li began to raise his voice, but the other caller cut him off, talking fast. After a few moments of disgruntlement, Li was nodding, his fingers pinched over the bridge of his nose. As his determination slipped, Azula's panic grew.

"_All right..._" Li was saying, his tone defeated. "_No, I can't afford any of them at this rate. Just- just let me know when you have an update…_"

She would be alone. Again. As usual. Her mind was pounding. She barely noticed Li leave the room.

As the door slammed shut, she heard Mai's voice rising continued the conversation, unperturbed. "Look, what Zuko d-"

"Don't talk to me about Zuko!" Azula leaned over the edge of the courtyard railing to glower at her companions. "Don't talk to me at _all_, both of you." She stormed into the first room in front of her and slid the bamboo door hard enough that the whole wooden structure of the house rattled on its stand.

She was seething. She couldn't keep this up. _Something_ had to be done.


	4. A New Approach

_Katara knew that the prince could probably hear them whispering about him. Why didn't he just come and introduce himself? She had never seen a toy act so strange. _

_It had been almost a week since he appeared. Usually when Jia got a new toy it didn't take even a day for them to be welcomed in. Katara and Sokka always made sure everyone knew each other; they were only a small group of toys. It didn't make sense for anyone to be left out. But this one was odd - as far as they knew, he was one of Jia's dad's shelf toys, and Jia had gotten him because he was damaged. Surely that would be even more reason for him to get acquainted with them? No one in their little group would be anything but understanding to a toy like that._

_There was only one way to figure out what was going on - take matters into her own hands. She left Sokka and Suki, who were trying to work out the best way to approach him, and marched across the room towards the window. All the other toys used the pull cord of the blinds to climb to the windowsill, but Katara instead used her water whip to deftly swing up along the knobs of Jia's dresser._

_Just as the window came into view, so did the prince. He was busy rubbing something vigorously with a long item in his arms. Peering closer, Katara saw that it was a black marker from the pot on the dresser. It was a permanent one, one that Jia's mom kept out of her daughter's reach and marked her storage boxes with._

_It looked like the prince was scribbling out the designer tag on his boot, though for what reason, Katara couldn't tell._

_When he heard Katara's step, he jumped in surprise and turned to face her, drawing himself up to his full height._

_Katara tried not to be discouraged by the distrustful scowl that met her._

"_Hi," she said, trying to appear as friendly as possible. "I'm Katara. You're from the next room?"_

_He looked at her square in the face. Katara did her best not to stare at the melted plastic scar. Then he glanced down at the room, suspiciously eyeing the toys that were meeting on the rug._

"_My name is Prince Zuko," he said, noticing Katara's hopeful expression. He looked down at his boot almost unconsciously as he said it, and Katara berated herself for following his gaze. Only a glint of gold remained on the edges of his tag, the rest, with his name and maker's signature, was scratched out by the marker pen._

_He was ashamed._

_Katara took a step forward. Prince Zuko's eyes widened a minuscule amount when she moved, and Katara's heart fell with the motion. She remembered how wary she had been those first few days after she was thrown out._

"_Okay… Zuko? Do you want to come and hang out with us?"_

_Immediately he stiffened. Katara wondered where she had misstepped? Was he used to being addressed with his title? Well, that wouldn't cut it in this room—_

"_I—" he started, and paused. "I won't."_

"_What? Why not?" She was staring at the tag again, and Zuko turned as if to shield it from her view._

"_I'm not like you," he said defensively. He looked at her up and down, his eyes lingering on her clothes and her hair. Katara felt humiliation rise in her stomach as she realised what was happening._

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_I'm not supposed to be here. I'm not like you! This room - you're dirty. Look at all of you. Your clothes, your joints are all cheap. I don't belong here."_

"_Oh really?" Katara demanded. "Then where do you belong?" She glared at him, anger bubbling inside her. Who did he think he was? Everything she heard about shelf toys was true._

"_From where I'm standing, you're just like us - you're in Jia's room," Katara said coldly. She tried to control her temper. This was not working out as she had expected, but still, she could sympathise with his position. She was once too proud to accept her situation too, and this prince had much further to fall than she ever did. "Look, I know it must be confusing, but I know what it's like to be thrown out—"_

"_I told you, I'm not like you!"_

_Why did he insist on being so stubborn? She could guarantee his supposed superiority wouldn't even matter in a day or two, he was just trying to save his dignity in a humiliating situation. "Listen to me! You've been removed from your old home and you have to figure out where you belong all over again. The same thing happened to me."_

_He advanced, but his eyes were almost confused as they fixed between Katara and the toys on the rug. "It's different for me! I'm not a playing toy, I'm not easily replaceable!"_

_Katara jerked back in an instant. That was it._

_Zuko seemed to know within moments that he had overstepped, his eyes widening. But it was too late. His stupid mouth gaped open. "I- I didn't mean you-"_

_Katara had heard enough. She turned and jumped from the windowsill to the dresser and sped back, past the rug, all the way to the toy box. Sokka caught her eye as she passed and gave her a confused look, but she couldn't explain, not now._

_If Zuko wanted to be arrogant, bitter and alone, that was what he deserved. Katara would not waste her time._

* * *

Azula cleared her throat, letting a sneer overtake her face as she watched her brother enter the study. "_What_ happened to you?"

She could sense Mai rolling her eyes and Ty Lee's concerned expression out of the corner of her eye. They probably thought she was about to go on some tirade. Azula rolled her eyes. Why couldn't they fathom the lows Zuko had reached since leaving the study?

"I was out," Zuko barked.

Azula smirked. Zuko got riled up just by existing, it was almost too easy to be fun. Nothing had really changed about him since he left. "You're all covered in dirt," she observed with flat distaste.

Zuko had the gall to roll his eyes at this observation. "I've been in the garden with Toph," he said, almost proudly. "What are you up to?"

Azula sniffed. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe he really was turning into one of the peasants he spent his time running around with. She knew he had rejected them at first, which surprised Azula, eager as he was to discard his royal heritage. But that event seemed to have changed him for the worse; Azula had been appalled when he had strayed even further than the hand-me-downs in Jia's room and gotten cosy with actual garbage outside.

There was hardly _more_ he could do to fall from grace.

"And I'm fine." She hacked a cough to suggest it was Zuko's dusty presence that was disturbing her. "Or I was."

There was no reason to let him know about the conversation she had overheard. He had lost the right to any knowledge of their family when he left.

"Did you find out what the new toy is?" she asked, hoping that making mind-numbing small talk with her brother might distract her.

"No. Toph said he was expensive, and a new favourite of Jia's, that's all."

Azula scoffed inwardly. As if that dirty little hunk of wood had any appreciation for expensive, with the way she dared to boss around the Royal Line's prince. "Did she now?"

"Yeah. I've seen him, too. He's got some kind of flying stick made of wood and buttons and all that."

Azula turned this over in her mind. A contraption made of wood that was also mechanised? That certainly sounded expensive. Would it be too much to imagine…?

She regarded Zuko again. "Stop being so pathetic, Zuzu. Go get in with this new toy before he gets indoctrinated by the rest of those rejects. Who knows, you might finally make a friend worthy of your own name."

Zuko began to screech something in his friend's defence again, but Azula wasn't paying attention. Li needed money. If she played her cards right, not to mention her brother, then there was still another option. And Zuko was not the brightest, so that wasn't going to be hard.

There was still a way to try and make sure that she would get her new family members. Ones that understood their worth, their status, and the importance of their home.

* * *

_Zuko inched his way down the garden towards Toph, who was peeking out from behind the shed. He was trying not to draw Jia's attention, which wasn't a difficult task: Jia's curious eyes were fixed on the worms wriggling on the patchy, damp earth in front of her._

"_Toph, hey," Zuko whispered._

"_What?" she said without turning._

_She was making a bizarre series of gestures with her arms, as if ushering something towards the house, towards the girl sitting with her lemonade in the middle of the garden. Upon closer inspection, Zuko noticed that it was Toph who was bringing the worms out. Only one cluster of them had squiggled into Jia's line of sight, her eyes following them with rapt attention. Toph looked like she was attempting to glare the rest into submission, drawing them out of the earth and coaxing them to follow the crowd. Zuko shuddered at the odd, unpredictable way they slithered._

"_I need your help," he hissed._

"_Can't you see that I'm busy?"_

_Annoyed, Zuko attempted to make sense of why exactly Toph was busy with this bizarre task. She was a strange creature, no easier to approach now than she was yesterday, when Zuko had first met her by tripping right over her as she was taking her afternoon rest. How was he supposed to know that not all the wooden beams piled at the end of the garden were, well, beams?_

"_What are you doing?" Zuko asked flatly, giving up. "Are you… are you worm-whispering?" He couldn't help the wariness that seeped into his words. He was already cautious of the fact that Toph didn't want or have an owner, but if she was also talking to animals, that was a whole other level of wild than what he had entertained._

_But he had come here with a task and he needed her help._

_Zuko squared himself up. "I saw you had a couple of knives with you yesterday. I need a weapon." He was quickly becoming aware of the fact that if he didn't band with the other playing toys, he needed another form of defence, just to be safe. Houses were full of hazards for toys._

_Toph was humming absently. The last two worms, glistening in the grass, gave her a wave of sorts and began marching towards the house. Zuko had to look away from their squirming movements in disgust. Finally, she stood up and patted down her dusty trousers with satisfaction. "I can help you. But those blades are gone."_

_Zuko's hope fell. Where were they going to get more knives? The ones Toph had had looked sharp and well-crafted. Zuko assumed she scavenged them from her old house._

_Toph noticed his pointed silence after a few moments, and shrugged like it couldn't matter less. "I gave them to the stuffed panda next door. He was dying trying to get gum out of his fur. So dramatic."_

"_But we can make more?"_

_She nodded, beckoning Zuko to follow her behind the shed. There lay an old, upturned bucket, which would have been bright red before it was bleached by the sun. Toph bent her knees and hoisted it up with surprising ease. Zuko hesitated before crouching and stepping inside._

_Within its walls, the space glowed pink from the sunlight filtering through. A small hole at the top provided a sliver of light._

_Zuko looked around, amazed. Stacked around the edges were odds and ends of every type. Zuko spotted a pile of grocery bags, folded; screws and bolts and metal scraps; stones, sticks, strings and even piles of soil. There was a patch of fabric that looked to be the same cotton as what Toph's outfit was made of. She reappeared by his side with a couple of long rectangular razors in her hands, like the ones Li bought and left on his desk sometimes._

_Zuko winced when he realised she was holding them so carelessly that the blades were leaving scratches in her wooden arms. She didn't even seem to notice. He touched his own eye and felt the plastic twisted and pulled out of shape._

"_I fought the guards at the dumpster in front of the house for these razors. The bins are usually full of them, but this is the fanciest kind."_

"_You _fought _the guard?" Zuko was taken aback. The more he found out about Toph's lifestyle, the more he discovered how little he actually knew about toys._

_Toph laughed, glittery and high. "How do you think I got these clothes? Lady Princess toys don't exactly come dressed in sports gear. The guards are easy, anyway, they're old school soldiers."_

_Zuko eyed the razor blades warily. It felt like there was a whole world of savage toys that existed far away from anything he'd ever known. "And what do we do with these?"_

"_We make them into weapons, genius." She considered him with her hand on her chin before grinning. "I think a prince like you should have a sword!"_

_So they did. Zuko was made to stand back while Toph handled the initial twisting and shaping. Then, following her instruction, he spent the rest of the evening hammering out and sharpening a long, curved blade like the ones he had seen the ninjas carry in one of Jia's old picture books. Toph made another after his own design, though she finished before him. Zuko was too amazed to care._

_By the time they ventured back into the grass to test the swords, the sun had set, the blue twilight settling over the garden like a cool blanket._

_Zuko found a couple of stiff weeds, slicing cleanly through them as a test. Toph listened intently for the sound and then she whistled, impressed, as if she wasn't the one who had managed the whole scheme._

"_What were you doing with those worms?" Zuko asked, settling down on the grass. He looked at the corner of his robe, the smudges of dust and grime covering it, and then the sword he had made, glinting clean and silver._

"_Jia looked so sad when she came into the garden looking for them yesterday and they were all underground. I thought I'd make them give her a show."_

_Zuko was surprised. "I thought you didn't like kids."_

_Toph laughed again. The sound was like the only remnant of her past life, high and feminine, clear like a toy in an advertisement. "Just because I don't want to be owned by them doesn't mean I hate them."_

_Zuko didn't say anything to that. He wished he could be as carefree as Toph. "I can't believe they actually listen to you," he said, still thinking about the filthy worms. He tried to imagine Azula even being in the same room as one; the image was laughable._

_Toph leaned back into her arms, settling in the grass. "Ah, I have my way with them. They're all right." She laughed as Zuko wrinkled his nose. "Moles are my favourite, though. They are too cute."_

_Zuko couldn't exactly agree with that, but what did he know? He stayed out with Toph until it was fully dark. When he left, she let him have both swords, saying that she could get more any time she wanted. Zuko didn't doubt that for a second._

* * *

Aang sat on Appa's back and watched as Sokka tried to explain to Suki and her warriors how to throw Jia's boomerang so that it returned properly to the owner. He had whiteboard diagrams and everything. Aang had to admit, Suki did not look convinced. His eyes flitted around the room, looking for something to do. Jia had taken Katara to her friend's house today, so they couldn't hang out like they usually did. He patted down Appa's fur. He wasn't bored, exactly, not when he had a room like this to wander around in, but it would be nice to do something he could tell Katara about later. He had already made friends with practically all the toys here.

All except one.

His eyes caught the figure on the windowsill. Why was he there, every evening without fail? Curiosity got the better of him. Glancing to make sure Sokka was thoroughly occupied, he jumped off Appa's back and glided up to the sill, using the cord of the curtains for guidance.

Zuko turned at the sound of the glider landing. Aang approached him, trying not to feel intimidated by the two swords glinting around his belt.

"You're Zuko, right?" he said, advancing slowly. He stopped in front of the prince and set his glider down, dropping to sit cross-legged inches away. Zuko looked thoroughly confused by this development, but he didn't make a move.

"Why don't you ever play with us?"

"What?"

"Aren't you one of Jia's toys? Why are you always hanging out alone?"

"That's none of your business," he said, brows still drawn in confusion, but something akin to annoyance was inching into his voice. He looked like he was about to dismiss Aang, but then he hesitated as if he remembered something, his eyes softening.

Well, his good eye. Aang couldn't help but stare. Up close, the scar was unavoidable, all the more harsh against his pristine features. Here was a toy of clear quality, from the deep colours of his robes to the detailed partings in his vinyl hair. The angry wound around his eye stuck out like a sore thumb.

"I'm sorry," Aang said, more considerately this time. "It's just that I've never seen you with the group."

Zuko scowled but did not turn away from him this time. "I'm not with the group."

Katara's words echoed in his mind.

"What happened to your face?"

For a moment, Zuko looked scandalised, staring at Aang like he was amazed that someone would ask such a blunt question. Then, he dropped his brows, and glanced away only once before looking at Aang and saying, "Jia dropped me in the fire."

Aang's eyes widened. "Jia _plays_ with you?"

He immediately cringed at the shock in his own voice. He was saying _everything _wrong, like he hadn't learnt anything by spending a week amongst other toys. But Zuko didn't seem like he had even noticed, glaring out of the window with his arms crossed over his knees. "Not anymore," he said darkly. "I don't think she can stand seeing me. Her dad was so mad at her for this." He pointed callously towards his own face.

Aang didn't pester him further. The rest was painfully clear: he was suffering from the worst fate possible when you were in a child's room. Being discarded while every other toy in the room gets played with.

Aang tried to find something to make small talk with Zuko about. He was surprised he was even getting to talk to this strange toy. It wasn't as if Aang had been discarded by Jia or her dad, but he realised they did have something in common. "You know," he said cheerfully, "I'm damaged too."

Zuko gave him a weird look like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Aang pointed at his own face, "My eyes used to glow," he tapped his forehead, "and my arrow."

Zuko's eyes narrowed in the faintest curiosity. "You're not a playing toy."

"Technically I'm not," Aang said, nodding. "But, since I don't remember where I came from, Katara found me and I came with her." Oddly, Zuko seemed to wince at the mention of her name. "So I guess I am a playing toy now."

"You can't just change who you are," Zuko said, rising, the scowl back on his face.

"Sure you can," Aang stood up to mirror him. He eyed the swords around Zuko's belt. "You did, didn't you?"

Zuko stared at him, looking like he was struggling to decide whether or not Aang could be trusted. Finally, in a tight mumble, he said, "I hated it. Being a shelf toy."

Aang's eyes widened. "Me too. There's _nothing_ to do."

"_Right?_"

Aang was relieved to find common ground. Still, there was something agitated about Zuko, about the way he addressed the topic. Aang didn't want to alienate him by getting into all the serious stuff about how tedious it was to be a shelf toy. He glanced at the swords again. Now there was a distraction.

"At least you have these cool swords now," he said. "How do you use them? Is there a technique?"

Zuko squinted at Aang for a moment, searching for something that Aang wasn't sure of. A fleeting doubt struck him. What if there really was something wrong with Zuko? He seemed - well, a little awkward, but nothing as bad as the other toys made it sound like, especially Katara.

"I can show you," Zuko said, hesitantly. Aang's eyes followed the length of the sword as he lifted one out and handed it to Aang, who grabbed the makeshift handle that was wound up in layers of electric tape.

"Follow my movement," Zuko said sternly. "Try not to hurt yourself."

Aang grinned.


	5. Origin

"This is _so_ much heavier than it looks," Sokka whined, lifting Aang's glider experimentally up above his head. The effort made his legs wobble worryingly.

Aang began to laugh, but when Sokka started teetering forwards, he rushed to steady him. "I guess I'm just used to it."

"Says the kid with the movable joints, sure," Sokka muttered. "You're _used to it,_ that's all." He jerked his shoulders back to straighten out again, and before Aang could yell at him to stop, the glider tilted to one side, breaking Sokka's balance and pulling him to the ground.

Aang made a short-lived attempt not to laugh, but then did it anyway; Sokka's aggravated attempts at getting back up only egged him on. Hanging out with a certain prince for the past few days meant Aang was parched for a little laughter. Zuko was currently watching them with his arms crossed and an unimpressed glare.

"Katara can carry it just fine," Aang said with a mischievous raise of his eyebrow, "And besides, I don't know how you can lift that boomerang and then complain about–"

"It's my turn."

Both Aang and Sokka swivelled their heads around at the interruption. The third member of their glider-flying session looked startled for a brief moment at the sudden attention, before he settled into a familiar scowl.

"Uh. I– I mean, take your time?" Zuko said, wincing at his own words. Aang really did wonder if his mouth was painted that way– he'd never seen Zuko when there were humans around, so he didn't actually know what his resting expression looked like.

"No, you're right." Aang smirked, addressing Sokka, "it _is_ his turn."

Sokka grumbled something about Prince Grouchy Pants but he heaved the glider into Zuko's outstretched hands all the same. Aang helped him put it on. Unlike Sokka's simple polyester tunic, Zuko had layers expensive fabric over his shoulders, so he took extra care with the straps. He thought about Katara, and how she ripped her tunic on the glider the first time she tried it and didn't even stop to check.

They couldn't be more different, the two of them.

It wasn't the first time the thought crept into his mind: why did Katara hate him so much? It had been a couple of weeks since Aang first approached Zuko on the windowsill. He had tried to bring Zuko along to hang out with the other toys, after that. Zuko was incredibly awkward, sure– Aang used to worry about himself, about saying the wrong thing to the other toys when he'd been alone for so long, but any ineptitude he had in that regard paled compared to Zuko. Aang knew that wouldn't bother Jia's toys, though. Despite some minor hesitancy, most of the toys– even Sokka–had come around, even if it was a morbid curiosity rather than kindness that motivated them at first.

Everyone except Katara. She had never joined in once. When Aang had asked her if she would, she only glared and mentioned his _royal heritage_ in a tight mumble before stomping off. Aang didn't push it: he thought he would have better luck getting Zuko's side of the story first, but he still hadn't plucked up the courage to try. Something about doing that felt like he'd be betraying his first, best friend.

He couldn't help but feel like something was gravely wrong about all this. Katara was normally so compassionate. At the same time, he couldn't imagine Zuko, the way he is now, doing something so awful that even Katara wouldn't extend a hand to him.

"There," Aang said, shaking Zuko by the shoulders a little to ensure the glider was secure. His own back had latches that clicked it into place, and Sokka and Katara were flexible enough to hook their arms through the structure, but it was a little trickier with Zuko.

"What was that?" Zuko said, sharp and sudden.

Aang almost jumped. "What was what?"

"Your eyes," Zuko said, narrowing his own. "They just lit up."

"Really, I–"

"There, again!" He whipped his head towards Sokka. "You saw that, right?"

Aang inhaled sharply in remembrance. Something like this had happened before, when he first met Katara. She said she had seen his eyes light up, but he didn't notice a thing. Could it be a clue about his origins?

Sokka nodded, advancing until they were both peering closely at Aang, as if in anticipation for it to happen again. "What did you see? Do you know what it means?"

Zuko lifted the glider off his shoulders and set it on the ground, his eyes fixed on Aang. His voice was quiet with awe when he spoke. "It means you're an Avatar."

"A what?" Those words didn't mean anything to Aang. In front of him, Sokka's eyes bulged.

"This line of collectors' toys," Zuko said. "They're _really_ special, once in a lifetime kind of special. I know because there were a bunch of them in the store that I came from."

Aang felt his heart catch. Both of them were looking at him in wonder, eyes wandering all over Aang's clothes and features. Instinctively, Aang did the same, from his bare feet all the way up to his orange robes and tattooed arms. It was strange to hear, but he felt no different.

Zuko pressed on, his words fast and excited. "Each toy releases only once a generation, and they're based on one of the old Four Nations, the ones that existed before the world was split into countries - water, earth, fire, air." Zuko began walking a circle around Aang, scrutinising him. He returned to face him, breathless. "I think you're an air nomad."

* * *

Aang had had _no_ idea whatsoever that he was an Avatar. But once he found out, it was like he was taking it completely in stride. That little fact niggled at Zuko for the rest of the day. It made the wound of Zuko's own feelings about his heritage newly raw. Was it really possible, to find out you were part of one of the most coveted collections ever made, and then brush it off and continue playing? What did it say about the anxieties that plagued Zuko, about his place amongst the toys, even now? What did it say about _Azula_?

It was following this train of thought that he decided to visit her, almost desperately. To ground himself, in a way, so the absurdity of Aang's perspective didn't overwhelm him.

"You should bring him around, the new one," Azula said, inspecting her nails, once Zuko had recounted his day – with as little detail as possible. She was oddly calm these days. _Resigned._ Maybe she wanted to make a show how disappointed she was about the fact that her brother had become a permanent member of Jia's ragtag toys. "_Is_ he new? A new product, I mean."

Zuko shrugged irritably. He didn't know why Azula expected him to know such things. "I don't know. He looks clean."

"Do you know _what_ he is?"

Zuko was careful with his next words. He wasn't going to tell Azula that Aang was an Avatar. That was out of the question. It was too important a fact (even if Aang didn't seem to think so) and knowing her, she had to have some scheme up her sleeve. He didn't want to expose Aang to that.

Aang had approached him despite his reputation. Even when he looked like this, and acted like… well, a jerk. No, he had to protect Aang from whatever Azula wanted with him, even if it was the frivolous curiosity of someone way too obsessed with the prestige of a toy. He settled on half the truth. She would easily see through a true lie. "He's got some kind of light up contraption on his forehead, but I've never seen it switched on."

"Does he?" Azula's eyes flitted from her nails to Zuko and back again. Zuko's stomach lurched with worry. Had he said too much?

Before he could stop himself, he was speaking. "I don't know what you're planning, Azula, but I'm not having any part in it."

Azula's eyes glittered. "Aw, Zuzu. I told you before, I only want to see what friends you've made of your own stature. Besides, don't you think there's something in it for you?"

"What do you mean?" Zuko didn't like the direction this was going in, but now she had his interest.

"If Li sees that Jia brought such a... _valuable _toy, he might cheer up a little. And if he's happy, and she's happy, and she's allowed back in here, then you might actually get played with like you _so _desire, _eugh_." She did nothing to hide her disgust at the notion.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. It wasn't like Azula to even hint that she ever saw things from his perspective. Not to mention, he'd never told her that what he wanted was for Jia to play with him again. Embarrassment filled him at the realisation that Azula could read this off him so easily. Could Aang, too? Is that why he approached Zuko, because he'd taken pity on him? Is that why Sokka and Suki and the rest were being nice to him?

Katara had pretty much admitted that was why _she_ approached him, during his shameful encounter with her. And getting worked up about that had done him no good. "I'm not bringing Aang and the others here just so you can make fun of them. Besides, if what you're saying is true, Aang would end up on some shelf in here."

"So what? He's got that glider, doesn't he? He could go wherever he wanted, just like you do. Ugh, whatever, Zuzu. If you want to be a reject, I can't change your mind."

Zuko returned to Jia's room. It was dark, and she was in her bed asleep. The toys were in their box. He hoisted himself up to the windowsill: he needed to think.

Azula was wrong: even if Jia didn't play with him, he wasn't an outcast anymore. Still, he couldn't help think of the times that he had seen Aang, or Katara, any other toy, clasped to Jia's chest before she took them away to play. And Zuko would have to drop what he was doing and simply watch it happen, playing dead, the only way Jia ever saw him anymore. It would be nice to go out on adventures with Jia. It would be nice, even, if she played with him in here. If she picked him up and decided he was an explorer, or a king, or a dragon hunter again, just for a moment.

Azula was not to be trusted. But maybe she was right about impressing Li. It wasn't the most straightforward idea, no matter what way he looked at it, but it was the only one he had. And the toys might like seeing the study, too. Sokka had said he used to go there, back before Jia stopped being allowed there and Azula started acting up so much, though Zuko had an inkling that that was to do with the pretty toys in the room more than anything. The others _would _like Mai and Ty Lee, too, at the very least. Would it be such a bad idea?

* * *

"You gonna sulk all day, Sugar Queen?"

Katara, leaning against her bucket, paused her current occupation – angrily picking off sections of a stalk of grass. Toph didn't need to see her glare to be able to feel its raw annoyance. "I'm not sulking."

"Sure, whatever," Toph said. "I have to say, it's normally Zuko that comes down here alone to mope about you guys not playing with him, so I _guess _this is a nice change? Do you wanna go ant-watching with me?"

"Ant-watching?"

"Yep. I check in with the ants, and they watch the perimeter of our yard and tell me who's doing what."

Katara sighed. "Uh, no thanks. And I told you, I'm _not_ sulking. I'm just choosing not to engage. You sound like Aang. Why should I play with someone who thinks I'm worth less than his shoe? And doesn't care if I know it?"

Well, there was nothing Toph could say to that. It wasn't like those feelings weren't warranted – Zuko had been insufferable, and Katara apparently got the worst of it. She tried a different angle. "He might be totally different from when you last talked to him. Look, you said even Sokka's playing with him now. You really think Sokka would hang out with someone who was snobby about playing toys? For that matter, would Aang?"

Katara harrumphed. "Aang's new. And he's way too forgiving, anyway. And Sokka's just curious. I'll bet you this is not going to last. He'll show his true colours soon enough." But even she sounded unsure about her last words – it had been almost two long weeks, and Zuko had yet to do something to offend them.

Toph resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Now she was being deliberately obtuse. "_Or,_" she said, drawing out the word, "They might actually be friends? I mean, did you give him a chance to apologise to you? He might regret saying those things–"

Katara made a small noise like a grunt of frustration. "It doesn't matter. He still said them, didn't he? Of all people, he should know how much it hurts to be thrown out, and he still-"

Toph sighed a long sigh, before striding over to sit next to Katara. They were just going in circles now. She didn't have to make nice with him if she didn't want to, but was isolating herself from her friends really the better approach? "Yeah, yeah. He's a stupid kid, Katara. There's no denying that," Toph said, and she couldn't help the affection that seeped into her voice. Zuko was _her _friend, and more than that, they were united somehow, in their solitude. Hopefully, Katara didn't notice her change in tone. She had a reputation to maintain, after all. "But that's just 'cause he's been in that cult dollhouse his whole life. You really think someone that snooty would bother talking to _me_?"

It seemed Katara had nothing to say. After a few minutes, she stood up resolutely, throwing up a pile of torn grass in her hand. Some pieces fluttered onto Toph's feet when it cascaded to the ground. "Fine," she barked. "Let's go ant-watching."

Toph wasn't going to complain. But _boy,_ this girl had some processing to do.

* * *

Katara thought a lot about what Toph had said, when she was in the classroom at school the next day, watching Jia scribble into her exercise book during a test. She had started a habit of bringing Katara to those, for luck.

And that made her realise, as she did often these days, how lucky _she_ was.

Maybe Aang and Sokka and the rest were right. And Toph, especially. Toph wasn't the kind of toy who even cared to give her input on any situation like this normally, let alone try to convince her so sincerely. That had to be worth something.

She decided she would tag along, next time they hung out with Zuko. Not to play with him or forgive him, just to see. It had upset her, if she was being honest, how quickly they warmed up to him, even Sokka, who knew the kind of things he had said to her if not the exact words.

But maybe it was time to let it go.

She pulled Aang aside and told him as much that evening, as they were all preparing to attend a show put on for the toys by Jia's paper spirits. Aang smiled so wide that it actually made her look forward to the idea.

Aang had recounted to her what happened in his gliding session the day before, that he was an Avatar toy. The fact that it was Zuko who told him as much certainly didn't warm her to him–she couldn't help the anxiety that rose in her chest, the confirmation that she and Aang were worlds apart, as far as toys could be.

Still, if Zuko was having this kind of influence on him, and Aang was letting him, it was all the more reason to make nice. Keep your enemies closer, even if what she wanted, and hoped for, was a friend.

Katara quietly slipped into the empty spot next to Zuko when everyone else had more or less taken their seats, lined up in two neat rows across the rug. The paper puppets were a gift from Jia's grandma, and they usually lived packed away in the living room and kept to themselves. But some reorganising on Jia's mother's part meant that they had appeared in Jia's room this morning. Katara had met them once or twice before– her opinion was that they _preened_ a little bit too much for any toy, but even she couldn't help but gasp in awe of them as the show began, their translucent shapes gliding across the stage almost like they were floating.

Presently, the great, hulking shape of an owl with a thousand tufts of papery fur was chasing the wispy tail of an eel round and round the cardboard box, draped in tissue paper, that served as their stage. She glanced at Zuko, who was so mesmerised that he hadn't even noticed her sit beside him. Katara was surprised about that, though she wasn't sure why.

By the time the intermission rolled around, however, he had realised. He visibly stiffened as she tilted her head to address him.

"Zuko," she began. Toys were still cheering and clapping as the spirits left the stage.

His eyes widened like he couldn't believe she was speaking to him. "Katara– what are you doing here–" he sat up straight and cleared his throat, clearly trying to smooth any surprise out of his face. His tone softened and his brows furrowed with effort, and that confused Katara's stance already. "I -um, I need to speak to you."

Now Katara was face to face with him she tried not to be reminded of their last and only conversation until now. The expression didn't sit right on his mangled face, and Katara wished he would just scowl instead like he usually did. "I know," she said, looking around for somewhere quieter. "Let's go behind the door."

Zuko followed her. Once they were away from the commotion, he spoke up immediately. "Katara I— I'm really sorry for what I said to you back then."

She crossed her arms, and stuck her chin up, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I was– I was angry. At myself, at Li, even at Jia."

"Go on," she said, her temper lessening with each word. He sounded completely sincere, and though Katara could still hear his words from that day ringing in her head, she had always sympathised with his situation. That's what led to all this in the first place.

"-And I took it out on you. Maybe if you– if we all hang out together, I can prove it to you that I'm not the toy you talked to that day, not anymore."

She swallowed. "I was only trying to be nice to you. I know what it's like to be thrown out by someone you love–"

He physically flinched back at the words, surprising Katara so much that she lost track of what she was saying. The memory of their previous meeting played endlessly in Katara's mind; he had taken it as an accusation back then, too. That's what it was. "Zuko?" She says more gently. "You know you don't have to be ashamed, there's–"

Faint footsteps pattered down the hallway, followed by Jia's voice echoing into the room. "_Wait, mom, let me get Katara!_"

"Oh–everyone drop," Sokka yelled from the middle of the room. Katara spared an apologetic glance at Zuko. They'd have to pick this up later. In a matter of moments, Jia arrived. She searched the room briefly before picking Katara up, pressing her against her chest in a hug.

The last thing Katara caught before Jia slammed the bedroom door shut was the expression of dismay on Zuko's face. And then they were off, out of the house and into the car, on the way to a new adventure.


	6. In The Study

When Aang found Zuko by the windowsill again the next morning, he knew he had to bite the bullet and ask about whatever had happened with Katara. Aang had seen them in heated conversation after the play last night. It sparked a glimmer of hope in him, that Katara was willing to talk to Zuko one on one again. But soon Jia had whisked her away and Aang was too caught up in the festivities in the aftermath of the show – those paper spirits _really_ knew how to impress – to see where Zuko had gone, if they had even come to some kind of resolution.

The last time they played, Jia had mentioned an important wedding her parents were taking her to, so it was likely she wouldn't bring Katara back until later. Katara would miss whatever they got up to in their absence (it was the price to pay for being a kid's favourite toy), but Zuko didn't have to.

He didn't want to just leave Zuko up there, or ask him to play and ignore what was obviously on his mind. Not now that they were actually friends. Sokka would probably call all the toys out to go exploring around the house soon – it was a special tradition when the whole family was out and the toys had the entire house to play in.

This meant it was up to Aang to find out what was going on between them. His chance to figure out why Zuko hadn't come down from his old brooding spot yet and get him to join his first-ever out of house extravaganza was slimming with each moment that passed. He suppressed the niggling feeling that he was about to go behind Katara's back, and made for the window. When he arrived on the ledge, Zuko was sitting down, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Hey, Zuko. What are you doing up here?"

Zuko didn't turn. He was staring through the window, past Toph's hideout and into the fenced field beyond. The planes of his face reflected the clear morning sunlight with a slight shine, the dulled surface of the scar standing out by contrast. "I'm just thinking."

Aang shifted on his feet. "Well, don't you wanna come down? I thought we could try to brainstorm about this Avatar stuff before we go out to play."

"I think I'll skip today, actually," Zuko said with a sigh. He was slow and distracted, a manner that was so unlike him that Aang's curiosity got the better of him, and he walked around in front of Zuko just to be able to read his face.

"Really? But it's going to be a lot of fun. We can go anywhere we want in the whole house," Aang started. "Sokka said last time, they had a wrestling match on the _huge _sofa in the living room, how cool is that?" He dropped his volume, "I get it if you're afraid Katara won't want you to join us, but she's not–"

Zuko raised his head at that, eyes widening in surprise. "I know she's not here. That's not– that's not what this is about."

Well, this was news. Aang frowned. "Then what?"

Zuko gave him a scrutinising stare before shaking his head. "It was something my sister said to me yesterday. Ugh, nevermind."

"What did she say?" Aang pressed. The fact that this wasn't about Katara after all emboldened him; he didn't have to feel awkward about taking sides.

Zuko answered in a reluctant mumble. "She said we should go visit Li's study. That I should bring you guys to hang out." His eyes were trained on the dewdrops clustered on the other side of the window by Aang's feet.

This was puzzling. Zuko didn't like talking about his sister, but from what little Aang had heard, it seemed like this should have been a _good_ thing. "Huh? Why's that worth sulking over?"

"Because Azula doesn't suggest anything without an ulterior motive– I am NOT sulking, by the way–" He stopped abruptly and his voice quietened considerably before his next words. Aang saw him glance at his own boot, at the scratched-out signature. "I didn't know if you guys would want to. I mean, it's definitely not as fun as out here."

Aang's heart fell. Zuko was afraid they would be put off by where he came from, up in those cabinets with all those fancy toys. Aang had worried about the same thing, when Katara first brought him to Jia's toys. "Why not? I'm sure it'll be fun."

Strangely, this didn't seem to assuage Zuko one bit. In fact, he looked even more perturbed, Aang could almost say he looked guilty. "Are you _sure_?"

Aang drew his eyebrows together, before erupting in a smile and unclipping his glider. "Yeah! Now get down from this window and join us."

A call from below drew his attention. It was Sokka, waving his arms around wildly at the bottom of Jia's dresser. "Hey jerks! If you don't mind, we're heading out now! We're having a pool party in the bathroom!"

"We're coming!" It looked like any Avatar stuff would have to wait. Aang couldn't say he minded.

When they descended, Aang with his glider and Zuko following him down the cords of the blinds, Sokka informed them that the rest of the toys were already on their way. He swiftly deposited a squawking rubber turtleduck in Zuko's arms, alarming him enough to make Aang laugh loudly. As they walked, Sokka drew Aang into a far too intricate conversation about the possibilities of water gliding, which Aang had to admit, did sound pretty exciting.

What they saw as they crossed the living room stopped them in their tracks.

The television had been left on; Li often forgot to turn it off before he left the house. From its scratchy screen stared out none other than Aang himself.

The three toys gaped.

_You're all familiar with the extraordinary airbender Aang,_ a booming voice said, while the camera zoomed out to a kid a few years older than Jia admiring the likeness of Aang on a too-tidy shelf full of toys. The scene around the toy dissolved, changing to a serene cartoon set of a mountain, surrounded by temples and waterfalls, while the Aang on the screen flipped open his glider and spun around in jerky, stop-motion movements.

Aang marvelled at how serious his face looked when he wasn't moving. Was that _really _how humans saw him?

A new voice, bubbly and girlish, exclaimed: _Now get ready for a brand new Avatar, waterbending Korra! Hi-Yah!_ Aang belatedly realised that if this was the new Avatar, then that macho voice a moment ago was supposed to represent _him. _He glanced across at Zuko and Sokka, who had pure bewilderment written on their faces. The commercial went on to show off the new Avatar, a girl with ancient water-tribe garments and an intricate hairstyle that probably wouldn't have been feasible when Aang was made. Her background was a bustling cityscape.

Aang was still too stunned by the bizarre version of himself on-screen to follow the voiceover, but he watched as a disembodied hand demonstrated the on-off switch on the Avatar's back, and it made her eyes glowed with a majestic, near-blinding light.

He whirled around to his friends. Sokka was still gawking at the television, pointing; whether he was shocked by the oddity of the super-serious Aang onscreen, or the price tag that had just appeared next to his successor, Aang couldn't tell. Zuko was looking straight at him, eyes full of vindication.

The whole thing was over in a matter of twenty seconds. "You were right," Aang whispered. "I'm an Avatar."

* * *

"Azula," Zuko called into the empty room. Around him, his new friends filtered into the study, a handful of curious eyes flitting around the unfamiliar place. Even Toph had come, and she wasn't normally interested in the ongoings of other toys.

After mulling it over for a few days, he was feeling confident about this. Azula didn't have anything on him. Since that commercial had confirmed to Aang what Zuko had told him about his origins, Sokka and Katara both seemed to trust him more. Once Katara had returned from the trip, he had even managed to finish their conversation from earlier, and she was being nicer to him when they all played together. Zuko could breathe a sigh of relief. Even if she didn't trust him yet, it showed she was willing to. Zuko hoped what Azula said about Li and Jia and her being happy enough to play with him could be true. Things could actually be starting to fall into place for Zuko.

The devil herself emerged, leaning against her favourite spot on the railing. Zuko could feel the eyes of several toys, staring up in awe at the magnificent dollhouse. "What's this, Zuzu?" Zuko grimaced automatically at the nickname. Aang raised a bemused eyebrow at him, while Katara and Sokka sniggered behind their hands.

"I brought my friends," he told her, trying not to feel intimidated with everyone's eyes on him. "I want to introduce them to you."

Promptly, Ty Lee poked her head out from behind a pencil pot. "New friends?!"

Mai hopped out behind Ty Lee, who was already hopping down the piles of boxes adjacent to the desk to meet the other toys on the carpet. Slowly but surely, the toys began mingling. A few of the Kyoshi Warriors were fascinated by Mai, who surprisingly, was answering all their questions about her blade. Ty Lee hopped around asking Aang and Sokka about water gliding (which they had tried yesterday – and failed, it should be said). All Zuko could focus on was that Azula stood perfectly still in her terrace, surveying the room, and he tried to catch her eye to determine what was going on with her. To make it worse, he became aware that Katara also watching, only she was watching the interaction between Zuko and his sister.

"Toys!" Azula said suddenly, eyes all at once glued to Zuko and glittering. She smirked, as if she was impressed he had actually got the toys to come here and mix. "I think we should play a little game, don't you?"

The study toys stopped what they were doing and deferred to Azula's announcement, and curiously, Jia's toys did the same.

"How about...let's see… oh, hide and seek?" Azula asked. "There are so many nooks and crannies in this little study here, it would be a _riveting _game."

No one said a thing. Zuko almost felt bad for her. It never occurred to him the sheer lack of skill Azula had, at being _friendly_, until he had started hanging out with other toys. Most of them were simply looking between her and Zuko with bewilderment.

Thankfully, before Zuko had the chance to interrupt, Aang piped up. "Sure!"

Azula's smile widened. Its points were like knives. "All right. Uh–?"

"Aang."

"-_Aang._ Care to seek first?"

Aang hopped up to the desk. "Why not?" "

Zuko heard Katara make a noise behind him before catching herself. A twisting in his stomach made him sympathise. As Aang advanced, it became clearer that Azula was observing him like prey.

"Perfect," Azula said. "Since I can't exactly leave my house," she said bluntly, splaying her hands out to gesture her opulent surroundings, "I'll count you down until you can open your eyes. Everyone, you have until I count to 30."

As Aang covered his eyes, all the toys scurried to find a corner, clearly eager to explore a room many of them had never been allowed in before.

Zuko slipped out of Azula's view into the corner of the room, but he waited instead of hiding. Katara appeared to have the same idea, quietly crawling behind a briefcase next to him, and they watched the toys disperse. It wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out, just this time, to see if Azula was really going to play nice. Within a minute, the toys were all tucked away, disappearing inside shelves, behind books and trinkets and under desks. Azula was counting.

Zuko turned to Katara, a question of suspicion on his lips, when a tremendous crash jolted him out of it. Zuko froze.

Azula had thrown down a paperweight from her height, which lay in pieces on the floor.

In the moment it took him and Katara to register what happened, Aang opened his eyes, startled at the sound. A rush of heavy footsteps was thundering towards the study door.

Azula retreated. Aang had only a moment to drop dead, a lone toy in the middle of the desk, before the door flew open.

"Oh no, no," Zuko whispered. It felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. Katara watched the scene unfold next to him, her eyes wide as saucers, her hand clasped over her mouth in horror.

Time slowed to a crawl as they watched Li pick up the toy and observe him, attaching and reattaching the glider, flicking the light switch on his back on and off fruitlessly, recognition slowly hitting him. Li's expression of awe made dread pool in Zuko's stomach, and when he took Aang, gave him a final shake, placed him in his regular bag and walked out with it, Zuko knew what he had walked right into. He knew what he had done, how he had betrayed Aang, had played right into Azula's plan. And what was more, Katara knew it too.

* * *

Katara's head was reeling. She was rooted to her spot, panic constricting her, like being trapped in a box. She barely noticed Zuko storming out of their hiding place, barely even noticed as the rest of the toys clambered out of their hiding spots, shouting over each other with worry.

"Azula!" Zuko marched out to the middle of the room, Sokka and Toph fuming on his heels. "What did you do?"

Azula sauntered out to the railing, a smug little smile painted on her face. "_Zuzu_, you've been a great help. But I can't afford to work so slow."

Katara's heart seized. She should have known.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Zuko spat. His voice wobbled, laced with alarm and he was looking directly at Katara.

From above, Azula tutted. Katara felt sick, between the two of them, between the confused group of toys, trying to figure out what was happening. Every moment they stayed here was a moment they could be trying to get to Aang before something happened.

"Don't be coy," Azula was saying. "I told you bringing your new friend would help us. If Li sells him, he'll finally have the money to get the rest of our family."

_Sell_ him? That's what they were planning? To think she had ever felt sympathy for Zuko, to think she had been worrying for him minutes ago when she saw the way his sister taunted him. To think _Aang _had trusted him.

Those two were in this together. She whirled on Zuko, balling her hands into fists. Her voice shook. "_You_–"

Zuko's eyes widened with real fear. He sputtered, "Katara– you have to believe me, I didn't have anything to do with this, I- I would never want Aang to get captured- I didn't even think he was _that _valuable-"

Liar. He was the only one out of them that had known Aang was an Avatar. How long had he kept up this ruse? She couldn't listen to any more. She turned to the figure in the dollhouse, her anger and worry thundering in her ears. "What happens now, Azula?"

Azula had the gall to look like she didn't even care about the aftermath, inspecting her nails.

"Azula!" Zuko snapped. "What's your plan?"

She sighed a long-suffering sigh, deigning to give them her attention. Katara wanted to scream. She clenched her fists, glaring into her perfectly painted eyes. Azula glanced between her and Zuko, a bemused expression crossing her face. "Aren't you quite the worried little pair."

Toph almost lunged. "You prim, snooty little _princess_. What's going to happen to Aang?!" Katara would have, too, if Sokka wasn't gripping her hand tight and keeping her in place. If her anger towards Zuko wasn't turning to bewilderment with every second as his face took on a devastated expression.

Sokka glowered. "Answer her!"

"Li's Avatars are still in the box, so he's not going to keep your little boyfriend," Azula explained with a sigh. This was news. There were _more _Avatars in this house? What other secrets was Zuko keeping? "He's had his eyes set on a better deal for days. I noticed your friend's lights didn't work. Once Li gets them fixed, he'll be sold to pay for more Royals."

Dread rose in Katara's stomach. She wrenched her wrist out of Sokka's grip, who quickly turned his attention to herding all the toys out of the study. Katara faced Zuko. "You were in on it. You had to be. I can't believe I fell for it," she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Katara, I don't think-" Toph started, her voice trembling with concern, but Katara couldn't pay her any mind.

"It all makes sense. Of course it does," she laughed deliriously, "you want a family. You're all alone, Zuko! And you're using Aang to get your way when he's been _nothing _but nice to you!"

Zuko stepped backwards as she advanced on him, even daring to hold his hands up in surrender.

"Katara!" Toph called. "Please! Not now! We have to focus on getting Aang back!" There was a childlike fear in Toph's voice that was so unlike her that it finally made Katara stop. She swallowed. "Right."

With one last glare at Zuko, she walked out with Sokka and the other toys. When she looked back, Toph had gripped Zuko's wrist, worry etched all over her round face, before she dropped it and hurried after everyone.

At least Zuko had the sense to keep his mouth shut, to not follow them. As Katara stepped out of the door, she followed Zuko's gaze up to the dollhouse one last time: Azula had vanished behind one of the screen door landscapes, like none of this was of any interest to her, and her two friends were nowhere in sight. The study was deserted again. All that was left was Zuko, looking lost in the middle of it.


	7. Rescue

Jia's room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop when they returned. Sokka knew he had to think quickly. If Azula was telling the truth, and Jia's dad was going to take Aang away to be sold, that meant they had to get him back before he left the house.

"Right," he said, turning to his friends. Zuko's betrayal hung like a cloud over them but there was no time to dwell on that now. He paced across the rug, trying to clear his head. "We need to come up with a plan, right _now_, if we're going to get Aang back before it's too late."

Toph tapped her hand against her hip as she thought, the wood clattering loudly in the silent room. Between the two of them, Katara was uncharacteristically still. Sokka wanted to comfort her, but he knew any attempt right now would only set her on edge even more. They deliberated in silence.

Finally, Katara spoke up, her strained voice barely containing her distress. "He's probably at the front of the house. There's a shelf opposite the shoe rack. Jia and her mom leave me there sometimes when they're about to take me out."

Sokka caught her eye and they both swallowed. Jia's room was right at the back of the house, leading out to the garden. If they wanted to get to Aang, they would have to go through the living room and past the kitchen, both of which were normally in use at this time of day. And that's if Aang was even there in the first place. If Katara's hunch was wrong – if he was literally with Li - then they were plainly out of luck.

Toph looked up suddenly. "I can get my ants to check if–"

Before she could finish, Zuko burst into the room, eyes wide and demeanour dishevelled. He panted, his eyes flitting between the small group of toys gathered on the rug. "I just saw Li come back to the study to get his car keys." He looked at them gravely. "He had the bag – Aang – right in his hand."

Katara stood with a start. Sokka clenched his fists with renewed determination. That meant they had even less time than they thought, but there was a silver lining to this reveal – it would be easier to get to the car without being seen. "The back door is locked," he said, looking at Zuko. "We've gotta find a way to get outside and get to the car."

"My whip!" Katara interjected. "We can leave through the window if we use it to climb down on the other side."

The toys wasted no time, all hoisting themselves up Jia's dresser, one after another. The other side of the window proved to be an easier task; all they had to do was hold onto the whip and slide down to the paved garden path below. Sokka followed Katara down easily, though Toph, with her fingerless hands, had a little more trouble. Zuko did it all expertly. Sokka wondered how he'd learnt to do that. Not exactly the kind of skill you would expect a pampered prince to have.

In their rush to save Aang, no one – Katara, to be specific – seemed to question that Zuko too was coming along. Sokka was wary, but he knew a good ally when he saw one. Those swords on their own were more than likely to be helpful. He would just keep an eye on Zuko, that was all. One shady move and he would be out. He glared at Zuko when he caught his eye as they scuttled along the side of the house, to make sure he got the message.

Sokka caught up to Katara and the two of them turned the corner to the front yard just in time to see Li throw the bag in the trunk of the car. He closed it with a loud slam and marched to the driver's seat. "Quickly!" Katara shouted. The toys ran across the front of the house and leapt up to the trunk, clambering for purchase against the steely surface of the car. They began heaving up the lid but to no avail.

"It won't work! It's already locked!" Toph said.

Zuko, who had fallen back as they approached the grimy back of the car, hoisted himself up on to the bumper hesitantly. "Let me try."

Sokka let go of the handle, and reluctantly, Katara did too. Zuko drew out his swords and the other toys watched with curiosity as he used the fine point of one sword to pick the lock of the trunk. Sokka pleaded silently for it to work. The lock rattled promisingly, but it didn't give.

"We're running out of time," Katara said with a strangled huff.

"I'm trying!" Zuko said, refocusing his efforts. But he was getting shakier.

Sokka hopped down and looked around for another way in – but the car doors were closed. No sooner had he finished circling the car did the engine roar to life, giving the toys only seconds to make the choice to stay or go.

To remain at home or to rescue Aang.

Sokka rushed back to the trunk. Toph was covering her ears with her hands at the onslaught of sound from the engine revving, but she didn't move. Zuko was still picking the lock, getting more distraught by the second.

"Sokka!" Katara said, crouching, "Grab my hand." Sokka leapt again. The adrenaline wasn't enough this time but Katara caught him, swinging him over the bumper. They all held on for life as the car swerved out of the driveway and out onto the road.

Li sped through the road, rushing past rows of grey houses, past the orange afternoon sunlight peeking above them, until it turned into small road filled with shops. It wasn't busy, however, unlike the shopping streets they caught glimpses of on the television sometimes. Sokka's curiosity was piqued as he had never even_ seen _a main street as jumbled-looking as this one, but it was hard to feel excited, given the reason they were here. The toys were silent throughout the ride.

Eventually, the car came to a screeching halt outside a ramshackle storefront and Li got out. The toys hid under the car while Li retrieved the bag, and then followed him as discreetly as possible, scurrying into the shop before the door swung closed. A bell dinged from somewhere inside as they entered. Sokka surveyed the shop quickly: there were rows upon rows of shelves packed with colourful toys, hanging lights, lanterns and decorations. Boxes stacked precariously high from the floor gave the shop a cluttered and cramped air, despite the fact that it was probably five times the size of Jia's room. His eyes fell on the corner nearest to the door which housed a selection of swords and a few other stick-shaped gadgets Sokka wasn't familiar with. Reminding himself not to get distracted, he ushered Toph and Katara behind a large dollhouse. When he looked for Zuko, he saw the prince had already snuck all the way to the counter and was leaning against it mere inches from Li's legs as he talked to the shopowner.

Sokka had no idea how he managed to get over there so quickly and silently. Show off.

They watched as the owner inspected Aang, his eyes hovering curiously over the toy. Sokka had laughed his head off when he saw the gloomy, serious expression Aang had in that commercial, but seeing it frozen on the kid's face now didn't seem so funny. After what felt like hours, the man set Aang down, nodding. He fetched a wad of cash from behind the counter and handed it to Li who took it happily ad strode out. As Li left the shop, Sokka turned to his friends. They wore identical expressions of worry. Katara's eyes were heartbreakingly wide. Sokka put his hand on her shoulder as she turned and watched the car gear up and leave through the window. He couldn't help the frown that turned his face as his sister slumped against him. Jia's favourite, lost again.

But they were all still here. No, they weren't lost at all. They just weren't going anywhere until they had Aang. They'd worry about getting home later. Sokka caught Katara's eye and they nodded resolutely to each other.

"We should split up," Sokka announced once Zuko caught up to them.

Zuko nodded. "Someone needs to distract that guy so we can get Aang-"

Katara was glaring right at him. "If you think we're going to let you go up there to Aang–"

"I– it wasn't– I wasn't trying to sell him!" Zuko yelled, exasperated.

She crossed her arms. "_Why _are you even here? To cause more trouble?"

"You're not listening to me, Katara! I didn't––"

Sokka tuned them out. He had noticed that the shopowner had picked up the phone, and he was talking animatedly to whoever was on the other end. "Cut it out, you two!" He pointed towards the counter.

"Yes, yes," the owner said into the telephone, casually flipping Aang over with his free hand. "Well, I can't fix it, the batteries are fine. Seems like an issue with the circuit. No, I don't have the parts." He flipped the switch on Aang's back to on and off and on again. "Tell you what, I'll send it off to the warehouse when I finish up today," – he checked his watch – "in about, uh, half an hour. I'm expecting a hefty price for this one if we can get the lights working... Yep, original."

Zuko and Katara were both gaping in horror. Sokka swallowed. _Half an hour?_

"No, no, no," Toph was muttering. They watched the owner put the phone down, pick up Aang, and lock him away on a high shelf inside the cabinet behind the counter before dropping the key in his pocket.

Katara whispered firmly, "Sokka, you and Toph distract him somehow. I'm going to go up there and get Aang." She flipped her braid behind her and squared her shoulders, her hand on the handle of her water whip.

"I'm coming with you," Zuko said quickly. "I can unlock the cabinet."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "Because you managed that _so _well last time." But she relented when Toph and Sokka both turned pleadingly to her. It was their only option right now. "Fine," she conceded, "but you stick with me and do what I tell you to."

Zuko looked like he wanted to argue, but he thought better of it and simply stiffened his posture and nodded.

"I'm gonna go knock over some porcelain," Toph said simply. "I saw some on show by the entrance." When Sokka and the others turned to her in disbelief, she added, "just a _teacup _or something! Jeez." And she marched off.

Moments later, they heard the expected crash in one of the aisles. The shop owner looked up, startled, and then puttered away towards the source of the noise with a broom. Sokka nodded to the others. "That should give you guys a few minutes." There were a lot of items in this place so he hoped it wouldn't be _too _hard to keep the owner distracted, but what worried him was Katara and Zuko – if they would be able to work together on such a time-sensitive task without arguing. But neither had objected, and Sokka was coming to realise that Zuko was just as determined as his sister, and fast, too. They had a chance.

* * *

Zuko scaled the cabinet in silence. The moment the others had left, Katara had turned without a word towards the counter. She _still _didn't believe he was really here to help, which made Zuko want to tear his hair out a little. As they drew closer to Aang's shelf, he was half convinced she was going to draw in her whip before he had finished climbing, and watch him fall to pieces.

She did stand back and let him unpick the lock, however, clinging to the handle to give Zuko way. He got to work straight away, his head bursting with a thousand thoughts.

Even if he didn't know what Azula had really been planning, and even though it felt like Katara wasn't being fair to him given all that happened, Zuko was still wracked with guilt. If it wasn't for him, Aang wouldn't have gone to the study and Azula wouldn't have figured out he was an Avatar. There was no denying that he was the reason Aang had been kidnapped.

It was like everything that happened after he decided to leave the dollhouse was just one disaster after another.

Maybe he should have stayed.

A loud click from inside the lock jolted him out of his thoughts. Zuko's heart rose as he completed the turn with the point of his sword and the cabinet door swung open. He rushed in behind Katara, but he knew immediately as he stepped inside that something was wrong. Aang didn't come up to meet them, like Zuko expected he would.

"No," Katara whispered, leaning down. Zuko's stomach sank as his eyes fell on what she was looking at: Aang was lying on his face. His batteries were gone, and the battery compartment which took up most of his back was unscrewed. Several coloured wires were hanging out. Aang was as still as a toy resting in a human's hand.

Zuko clenched his fists and cursed this whole, horrible situation. Even if they did manage to wake him up in time, if Aang stood up now, all that would happen would be that anything else loose in the wiring would fall out. It was too much of a risk to take him anywhere like this.

For a long moment, Katara only stared down at the unconscious Aang. Zuko saw her form tremble ever so slightly, and then she turned back to look at Zuko. She picked up the screws that were in a small pile next to Aang's body and brought them to Zuko. Her eyes were wide and expectant in a way that seized Zuko's heart, and Zuko knew what he had to do. He took the screws from her. The two of them worked silently, Zuko putting the screws into each corner of Aang's backplate one by one, while Katara carefully tucked the wires inside. Aang would probably lose some – _more _– functionality as a toy, but this was the best they could do.

When everything was perfectly tidied, Zuko placed the tip of his sword into the nearest screw and began to twist. It was finicky and much smaller than any lock he might pick, but the screw turned all the same. Katara watched him intently, and he really wished she would stop, he was nervous enough as it was.

He was just about to tell her as much when Katara's head jerked towards the direction of the aisles. The shopowner's voice could be heard, humming absently as he approached. He had probably finished sweeping up Toph's distraction by now. The sword in Zuko's hands shook. Katara stood up and began pacing, looking like she was a second away from tearing her hair out.

Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and the sword dropped to the ground with a clatter. There was no way they were going to get Aang out in time like this.

* * *

"Right. What can we do next?" Sokka whispered next to Toph.

The two of them were peering out from behind a castle tower, in one corner of an entire display shelf full of buildings and contraptions all constructed out of toy bricks. Though Toph was wary at first of being so far from the ground, the complex structures provided the perfect hiding spot due to their busy outlines. Sokka said it would be the best place to watch the owner from and monitor his whereabouts – they could climb swiftly from one structure to another, all the way to the topmost shelf, from which almost the entire shop could be surveyed. And since it was situated near the front of the shop, just behind the counter, it would be easy to tell if the owner was approaching where Aang was being kept.

"We could break one of these," Toph said, slapping the wall she was leaning against. It didn't budge at all; the bricks where interlocked perfectly. It was crazy how far toys had come since her time.

Sokka frowned. "No," he said slowly. "It's too close to the cabinet. What if he sees them? We can't risk it."

"Well, genius, you're the one who wanted to be stationed close by–"

"I know, I know." He grimaced, "And I'm starting to see why that wasn't such a good idea, but I have another plan. There's a boomerang in the next aisle."

Toph would have groaned if they weren't supposed to be keeping quiet. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sokka pointedly ignored this question. "Keep an eye out," he said. "I'll be right back."

"_ Really? _"

"Oh, you know what I meant."

Toph listened to Sokka's footsteps padding down to the bottom shelf, before quickening towards what she presumed was the boomerang aisle. Or whatever category boomerangs belonged to. She was sure there wasn't a whole aisle dedicated to them. Kids had more sense than that, surely.

When a minute had passed, Toph thought she heard a low, muted grumble from the owner as he approached the front of the shop. It was followed by the sound of a door opening a few yards from her, and she was sure he was stacking away the broom. Toph listened carefully.

When another minute passed, and Sokka still hadn't returned, she began to worry. The door swung open again and the owner's footsteps were louder, heading straight for the counter this time.

"Sokka," Toph hissed. She concentrated hard, but it was difficult to tell where anything was from up here. Normally with a few taps of her feet, she would be able to sense through the floor pretty well, but for all their sturdiness, these bricks weren't anything like continuous ground. Her foot only stomped out a thin, short vibration, and all she could rely on was her hearing. "Sokka, where are you?"

The steps became louder.

She was half a second from toppling over one of these towers when a thunderous crash, probably five or even six aisles down, stopped her. The owner rushed away towards the sound with a yell, his footsteps thundering away in the opposite direction. Toph whistled a sigh of relief.

"Yes!" That was Sokka. He was panting, but his voice beamed as he leapt up the shelf of bricks and clambered up into the castle again. "I told you guys, didn't I?" he said, once he had settled down again, "practice _does _make perfect."

"_You _did that? That was all the way to the back of the shop! What did you knock down?" Toph punched his arm triumphantly. This might have been the most impressive thing she had seen in years. And she wasn't easily impressed.

Sokka stood up again, presumably to peer into the distance. "A huge mirror!" he said gleefully. That'll take a long time to clear up." He squeezed Toph meaningfully on the shoulder, "And that means," he said carefully, "_ no _porcelain figurines have been hurt in the process."

Toph shrugged. "It was a teacup," she insisted.

* * *

Katara could swear she felt even the cabinet under her feet shake.

"It's not going to work," Zuko said finally, standing up. "Doesn't matter how long the owner is occupied if we're still only on the first screw."

They should have tried something else, then; he should have said it earlier. Katara swallowed back her retort. She shook her head to clear it. Think.

This was no time to be getting angry. The distraction Sokka had created – her heart leapt for joy when she saw the boomerang flying across the room – gave them ample time. But Zuko was right, that would be worth nothing if they couldn't find a way to get Aang down in one piece. Katara looked around the cabinet frantically for what felt like the hundredth time. It wouldn't be possible to put him in a box or any sort of container, because climbing down the water whip was the only way to reach the ground safely from here. They could tie the whip around his torso, temporarily, to hold all the pieces together. But then how would they get down–?

She stopped in her tracks. It was still possible to tie him together. If Katara could use a scrap of her clothing, or something similar, then the whip would still be free. She ran over to Zuko, who was still hopelessly trying to work the screws. "Zuko," she panted. "I have an idea."

When he turned to her, she was taken aback by the desperation in his eyes. "We can bandage the pieces together so Aang'll be able to get up."

Zuko nodded. He was already yanking away the useless screw.

Katara knelt down and brushed her hands over her lap, feeling her clothing for any kind of way in – a snag, a catch, anything she could use to tear the fabric. She noticed that Zuko was staring at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "I'll tear off strips from my tunic," she explained, "we can tie them together to secure his back."

Zuko looked from her and back to Aang unconscious on the ground, several times. His brows were drawn seriously, inspecting them both. "No– don't. Stop."

Katara released the hem of the tunic in confusion.

Zuko pressed on, "We can't use that. The fabric isn't good enough."

Katara was gobsmacked. "What?"

"Realistically, it won't tear right. Just look at how torn it is already—"

Katara rose to her feet. _Really? _He was going to bring that up? At a time like _this_? "Zuko, I swear-"

He held his hands up. "I like your idea!"

"So?"

He advanced on her, his eyes blazing with determination. "Use mine instead." And with that, he wrenched away the front of his outer robe. Katara heard the _pop _as the threads pinning each layer of silky fabric to the next tore, and then Zuko was right in front of her, holding out his sword for Katara to take.

Katara stared. Oh.

That's what he had meant.

"Here," Zuko said. He glanced back at Aang against, the sword dangling insistently in his hand. Katara couldn't tear her eyes away from the destruction of his expensive robes, a sight so jarring that for a moment, she forgot to move. "It's too strong to tear. The sleeves are attached to me so you'll have to do with cutting it like this."

Yet Zuko couldn't seem to care less.

"Yes," Katara said slowly. Then she unfroze, closed her gaping mouth, and took the blade from his hands.

* * *

When Aang awoke his mind was hazy and clouded. It took him a few moments to realise he was in a toy store. The memory came crashing back – he had been brought here by Jia's dad, after they visited his study, after Azula trapped him.

Azula – and Zuko. Aang found he couldn't move, and when he tried, a loud rattle from deep inside his battery port told him clearly that he shouldn't attempt it again. He tried to lift his head and look around. The last thing he remembered was the ravenous eyes of the shopkeeper as he inspected Aang thoroughly.

His only thought now was how he would get back to his friends.

He couldn't become a shelf toy again. No. It didn't matter or not if he was an Avatar, if he was as precious as that commercial said. He had a life now – real friends, and a pretty amazing kid for an owner; a home.

He raised his head to peer out of the glass he was lying next to, and realised he was high up in the air. Something tugged on his arm when he attempted to move it – a familiar-looking silvery rope, the remainder of which was thrown over the edge of the cabinet.

The water whip. _Katara. _She was here.

He twisted his head gingerly to see if he could figure out what was going on in the cabinet, only to meet Katara's eyes across the spacious shelf. Her face dark with worry but her eyes widened with relief as they met Aang's. He cracked a smile.

"Aang! You're awake!" She rushed towards him. "Wait– don't move. We're just figuring out how to get you down. You're not all screwed together." He nodded the best he could; he was holding still but he couldn't bring himself to be worried about his state, not when Katara was _right _here. Besides that alarming rattle, he felt pretty sturdy, too; he glanced down his torso to see expertly knotted strips of burgundy cloth binding him together.

If she was in the shop too, it meant there was a way to get back. It meant he wasn't going to be left here alone. "We?" he said sluggishly.

Katara quickly glanced down before looking at Aang again. "Zuko's here."

"Zuko–" Aang began, a flare of panic in his chest. And then, "Zuko? I thought–"

Katara's brows furrowed, confusion and care fighting in her expression. "He came to rescue you too, Aang," she said finally. "He's our friend. He saved you."

As if on cue, Zuko trudged into his line of sight. He looked more like a scavenger than a prince. His outfit was all torn up, the shredded remains of his once-rich robes hanging limply from the stitching near his shoulders. Only one sword was in its usual place at his belt; the other, Aang noticed belatedly, was hanging in Katara's loose grip.

What was going on? "What–" Aang began, raising his head with puzzlement, but something clattered hard inside his back, the sound reverberating loud enough to make him dizzy. He fell back, his head ringing.

Katara looked alarmed. "Stay still! Oh, Aang. Like I said, we're deciding how to get down. Zuko will go first, and then I'll send you down so he can catch you. I'll go last to make sure nothing goes wrong on this end."

Aang nodded hazily; her words had begun to swim. Still, he knew he would be okay in Katara's hands, and doubly so if Zuko was here too. The last thing he thought before his vision went black again was just how lucky he was to have friends like these.


	8. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the final chapter, but there will be an epilogue at some point. Thanks for reading if you followed this little story!

Katara tiptoed around the edge of the cabinet, her ears pricked for any distraction. "Sokka," she hissed. "Toph!" A brief scuffle somewhere high above her head alerted her to a presence, and soon the two of them came lumbering down.

As soon as her feet hit the floor, Toph stretched her springy joints and ran a little lap around the cabinet. "Aah! Solid ground."

Sokka ran towards Katara, his expression falling when he saw her lone figure.

"It's okay!" Katara said preemptively. "We got him!"

Just as Sokka opened his mouth to reply, Zuko trudged around the corner, tattered robes and all, with Aang hauled onto his back and tied in place with Katara's whip.

Sokka's jaw practically reached the floor. "What… what happened to you?"

"We'll explain later," Katara said quickly. Her brother's eyebrows drew together with yet more confusion at the lightness of her tone. She stifled a smile as she caught Zuko's eye.

How good it felt, to know she'd been so wrong about him. Katara could hardly believe it. She turned back to Sokka, suddenly recalling the crash they had heard. She threw her arms around him. "I can't believe the boomerang worked!"

Sokka returned the hug but Katara could tell he was rolling his eyes. "Of course _you _can't," he said. "But he'll be occupied for a while," he puffed his chest out, "we've got plenty of time to make our escape."

"_Technically,_" Toph began, "it didn't work. It didn't come back, did it?"

Katara snorted and Toph bumped her shoulder with a grin.

"Hey!" Sokka put his hands on his hips. "You should be thanking me, not–"

"_Guys._"

They all turned. Zuko was simply standing there, posture deadly serious. Katara's excitement and relief were dampened when she noticed how he was hunching slightly under the weight of Aang. "Zuko–"

"It's still not safe for Aang to be here like this," he said promptly. "Let's go."

Katara and Sokka awkwardly glanced at each other. Zuko was adamantly not joining in on their celebrating, ready and poised to leave. She didn't blame him – she certainly had never given him the impression that he could.

Luckily for Katara, Sokka took the lead and nodded. "Right. About that…"

They all knew what they had gotten into by coming here. Now came the hard part.

Katara scrubbed her face with her hand. This was the part they hadn't planned, the part she had hardly dared to think about when the possibility of losing Aang forever had stood before everything else. How on Earth were they going to get home? She watched Sokka and Zuko exchange doubtful looks, both trying to mask their uncertainly with their determined expressions. She felt a pang of affection – for both her brother and Zuko, strangely in the same instant.

The dubious silence was broken by Toph clearing her throat. "I have an idea," she said, striding forward. "But first we need to go outside."

With no other plan, the others obliged. Katara glanced around the shop to check their position one last time before following her friends out of the door.

Outside, night had settled in almost completely. Katara squinted, struggling to see Toph's outline in the purplish darkness. She brought them a few paces away from the shop before stopping by a bush at the side of the road. There were few cars on the road now, and the streetlights were few and far between. The eerie silence bore down on Katara, and she felt a pressing need to get herself and her friends to the safety of the toybox as soon as possible.

Toph patted down the grass at the edge of the lawn. "Okay," she said lightly, and promptly put her hands to her mouth and blew out a loud, shrill whistle. All three of them winced and Katara covered her ears. Even Aang stirred suddenly before falling back into unconsciousness, a movement that greatly alarmed Zuko. Before any of them could ask what that was about, a giant creature came bounding out from behind the bush.

Its body was long, grey and sleek. Katara stepped out of its way instinctively, and Zuko's eyes widened like saucers next to her. The creature used its prominent snout to sniff the air curiously before lowering it in a friendly gesture next to Toph.

Affectionately, Toph rubbed the bristly fur over its eyes. "My mole will take us home!"

Katara was brimming with wonder. She had never seen a wild animal up close.

A sputtering sound behind her made her turn around. Sokka was standing at the very edge of the sidewalk, almost toppling onto the road. His eyes bulged. "Um, Toph?"

"Yeah?"

"That– that's not…"

"What?"

"That's a BADGER!"

Toph tilted her head in genuine surprise. "Really? I thought he was a mole. Though, I guess I don't really know anything about what animals look like. I heard moles live underground, so…"

Sokka moaned in disbelief, but Katara noticed with a smirk that he had straightened out now, approaching the group again in a belated attempt to maintain his dignity. He'd never been an animal guy – he was firm in his belief that they were at best a high-level threat to the existence of toys. Katara remembered how once, Jia's friend had visited with her cat. She'd never seen Sokka so unwilling to be _detected_, let alone picked up and played with.

"Lemme guess," Sokka said. "You just _happen_ to know all the badgers in this neighbourhood."

"Well, of course," Toph said. "They're my friends. Don't tell me you thought you guys were my only friends?"

Katara and Zuko looked at each other in astonishment.

"Didn't think so," Toph continued, oblivious. "Well hop on, we haven't got all night. We have to get back before Jia notices that you guys are missing."

* * *

Zuko considered himself to be a toy who liked adventure, but he came to the conclusion that a nighttime badger ride through town was a little beyond him. When they arrived back at the house, the toys were windswept and unsteady on their feet. Toph bade her badger goodnight and retired for the night, after making them promise to bring Aang out in the morning so she would know he was okay.

Zuko's stomach twinged with guilt. Even now that they'd got him back.

He put Aang down carefully in Jia's trunk while Sokka gave stern warnings to the other toys not to disturb him. Toys were hardy, but Aang absolutely needed to rest. Once they had ensured that Aang was lying securely – with the help of a colourful roll of washi tape from Jia's art drawer - Zuko carefully unwound Katara's whip and handed it back to her. Sections of the cord were frayed from the ordeal, but he couldn't imagine Katara cared.

Nevertheless, the idea occurred to him that he would replace it – or repair it at least, whenever he went to get some new clothes. Toph would surely know some toy or other who could help on that front.

They had decided to wait until morning to screw Aang's battery port back together. It was going to be a long and arduous task, as they had discovered earlier, so it was best to leave it until Jia would be at school and her parents at work so that they could work uninterrupted. And now they were home, he and Toph would be able to scrounge up some tools that were more suited to the task than Zuko's sword was.

For now, he sat with Katara under Jia's bed, leaning hidden against the edge of the toys' trunk. Most of the toys decided to stay put away as Jia came ambling in and out of the room between doing her homework, but it was clear that Katara, deep in thought, wasn't going to budge, so he didn't either.

They had a conversation to finish, and it was long overdue.

"Look," Zuko began, looking awkwardly down at his own hands. There was one thing they had to be clear about. "You have to know I had nothing to do with Azula's plan. I would never hurt Aang. Or any of you."

Katara looked up, her eyes earnestly wide. "I believe you, Zuko. I'm sorry I doubted you when everyone and everything was telling me that you'd changed."

Zuko nodded. He swallowed as Katara continued to watch him expectantly. "About that…" This was the part he never wanted to relive, but he knew he owed her an explanation if they were ever going to be friends like he and Aang were. "...I was scared. I didn't have a home, Jia didn't want me and neither did her dad. All I had going for me was my price tag, and I panicked and I used it against you." He snorted, derisively, but the action made Katara frown and put her hand over his. "I didn't even know you were secondhand until Toph told me but by that time I was too ashamed to show my face again."

Katara spoke up, her tone uncharacteristically soft. "When my first owner abandoned me, I didn't even have a fancy price tag to cushion my ego. And then Jia got me at a jumble sale."

"But she loves you more than any other toy. Price means nothing." He was still trying to wrap his head around that. It was hard to believe that something so antithetical to what he used to believe, what Azula, his only family, based her entire existence on, could be so false. That Katara was so patently kind and likeable made it a slightly easier pill to swallow.

Katara sighed, then playfully flicked a tangle of torn threads at his shoulder. "I guess now we're not that different, you and I." Her tone was deliberately light and Zuko found his mood lifting. "Aang and Toph and even my brother seem to love you _despite _your price tag."

Zuko laughed. "I think Aang was the first person who approached me and didn't care about my background."

"Not the _first _person."

Zuko realised his mistake and reddened, but he realised Katara was only teasing. Still, he felt guilty when he met her eyes again. "I can see why you two get along so much."

At this comment, Katara's expression twisted into a sad smile. "You know, I had a feeling before that he was an Avatar," she said. "I didn't want to tell him in case it would make him leave us…"

"I'd hate that," Zuko said bluntly.

Katara smiled. "Yeah, me too. Hanging out with him is the most fun I've ever had."

Zuko nodded. "For the record," he added, after a while. "Hanging out with you guys is the best time _I've_ ever had. I think leaving the dollhouse was the best decision I've ever made."

Now that made Katara grin.

* * *

Aang had had enough rest. Almost a week had passed since he had been kidnapped. He still felt a little dizzy when he ran around too much – right now, he much preferred it when Jia would come and play with him, and he'd get all the adventure but none of the trouble of actually moving around. There were some changes that were permanent, too. His eyes probably weren't going to be able to light up anymore because the electrical wires connecting them to the battery were messed up.

He had to admit he was a little dismayed. That was his special Avatar feature. Even if Jia was apparently heedless of all that, he had been looking forward to getting hold of some new batteries so he could do the trick for his friends.

In the grand scheme of things, however, that didn't matter much – at least he _had _his friends. Sokka, Zuko and Suki had been taking turns buddying up with him when he was alone to make sure he didn't come to any harm while he recovered. Even if it was a little stifling, Aang could feel nothing but warmth at their efforts.

A collector's toy like him, looked after by so many friends? He was well aware of how lucky he had gotten. Not to mention, Zuko had told him as much as he knew about Avatars, and they were planning to go see if they couldn't find the mysterious Avatars that Li supposedly owned, according to Azula. The thought made Aang nervous as well as excited – not in the least because it would involve returning to the study – but other than that, he was content. Finally being sure of his origins had settled the unease that plagued him ever since he woke up in that classroom. And a near-death experience certainly helped that along.

Katara had been busy with Jia all week, to Aang's admitted disappointment, as the family had taken her along to visit Jia's grandparents out of town. She had only just got back, and to celebrate, she and Aang had convinced the whole gang to go see Toph and get on one of her badger-mole-thing rides. He couldn't believe he had been unconscious all the way through that the first time around.

Aang soaked in the sun and watched his friends chatter. Toph was leaning against her bucket, patting a humongous, furry creature that was curiously nosing under it. Aang was instantly reminded of himself and Appa and that endeared him to the badger-thing already. Sokka paced with a worried look. Katara was attempting to convince Zuko to ride with her, his arguments becoming increasingly unconvincing.

"Come on!" Katara urged, tugging his hand. "Don't tell me you're scared of getting a little dirt on you." Her eyes glinted with mischief.

Zuko frowned, looking for a way out. "I– we can do something else? Badgers aren't exactly my _thing_. We can go ziplining from the clothes' line!"

Katara crossed her arms. "Nope. That's too similar to the glider."

Zuko looked pleadingly towards Aang. "Aang, help me out. Ziplining is more fun, right?"

Thankfully, Toph interrupted their increasingly unproductive conversation. "Let's go, guys! I don't want to keep my buddy waiting!"

Zuko tried again. "_I'm_ your buddy too. I should get a say in this."

"Huh, you have a point." Toph stroked her chin, "Though I never expected you to call yourself that. Feels weird because of your, uh, gold plating." She glanced towards the tag on his shoe.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "It's not even gold. I was too early for the trend. Azula's the one with the gold alloy."

"Is that why she's so grumpy all the time?" Sokka interjected. "Under all that weight?"

Aang, Toph and Katara sniggered, but Zuko crossed his arms. "We're getting away from the point."

"The point, Zuko," Aang said, smiling, "is that we're all going for a ride!" He leapt towards the creature, who easily let him onto its back. Toph whooped in agreement, while Aang helped a delighted Katara up behind him. "_Today_, if possible. Before Jia notices we're gone!"


End file.
